After Training, Everything Goes Wrong
by Barton-Lover
Summary: Basically what it says. Tony and Clint are left alone in the tower with only Steve's suggestion of training for things to do. Somehow that training turns Clint into a little kid. So why can't the others come help? Oh, apparently Bruce has been kidnapped, Natasha's away on a mission, Steve and Thor are trying to find Bruce. What does OCFS stand for?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own MARVEL or any of it's characters. Though I did name my child Clint. LOL ;p**

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Tony hissed in pain as his body slammed into the desk positioned closest to the lab door. He had tried to stop himself but his socked feet slid across the polished tiled floor. Normally, he'd loved to slip and slid across the floor. Hell, he once challenged Clint to a sliding race. But who knew the archer would consider himself a weapon and so he'd know the exact amount of force needed to shoot himself down the hall. Of course today wasn't a normal day. Spinning around, Tony caught sight of the stairwell door he had used closing shut, the lab door beyond not doing the same. Whatever lead he once had was ruined with the slow motion of the automatic close. Groaning, Tony moved around the table and shifted deeper into the lab. Things weren't going well for him at the moment. Of all the times for technology to backfire against him.

"JARVIS, close the door!" Tony cried. Nothing happened. Frowning, he looked up toward the video monitor positioned closest to him. JARVIS was normally a lot faster than this. "JARV?"

"I am unable to do so. My systems are currently down," JARVIS reminded, sounding slightly annoyed and put off as he had reminded Tony various other times already. Tony cursed to himself. It wasn't until now that he realized how much he relied on the AI. Yeah, Tony knew that JARVIS could be hacked and used against him. Or JARVIS could be shut off, or worse, destroyed but he never really considered that it would happen while he was alive. He also never thought about if JARVIS went down during a battle or an attack on the tower. It was going to be his own fault now. In the back of his mind, Tony made plan to come up with various backups to make sure nothing like this could happen again.

Rushing back over to the lab door, Tony slammed it closed. Thankfully this door still had a manual lock from when Tony had panic attacks and needed to hide from Pepper. Making sure to use that to lock the door, the genius glanced into the hall. Clint stepped out of the stairwell door in that second. His bow was drawn back with one of the arrows that Tony had made for him the week before, one that both knew was perfected. Tony knew this arrow was an electric arrow designed to give a shock hard enough to knock even Thor unconscious. And right now, Clint had it aimed at Tony's ARC reactor. Clint released the arrow and both men watched as it forcefully hit the glass door. Electricity raced across the glass. Tony winced, knowing that if that had indeed hit him, he would have been knocked out or even worse, short circuited his reactor.

"Lock integrity down to 70%."

"Thanks, J," Tony sarcastically answered, glaring up to the monitor once again. Clint walked up to the door and placed a hand on the glass. Tony had specifically designed this door so that it didn't even look like there was anything there but with a command to JARVIS he could turn it opaque so that he could have his privacy. Clint smirked at it and looked into the lab. His blue eyes focusing on Tony's brown ones.

"With JARVIS hacked, I could open this door. Just a simple command. Better find a weapon, Stark," Clint taunted, relaxing back on his heels as he watched the billionaire. Tony winced again, reminded of the Manhattan attack and Clint's earlier attack on the Helicarrier. Clint wasn't just an archer. He had a military mind and he used it. Unbeknownst to the genius, the archer noticed the wince and also thought back to the incident and wondered if maybe this whole thing was actually a good idea.

Spinning around, Tony spotted something sitting on his lab desk. It was Natasha's Widow Bites. He had been working on them, trying to improve them for the spy. A few days after she had moved in, she mentioned that it would be nice to have a fast acting sleeping agent in her bites so that she could take a person alive, if needed. Tony took it upon himself to create one. He almost had it perfected now and so he had taken her Widow Bites to fit the cartridge inside of the weapons. Smiling now, Tony rushed over to his desk but before he reached it, he slipped. Reaching out with both hands he caught the edge of his desk and the edge of Bruce's closest desk. Both tables had vials on them that dropped to the floor and mixed. Thankfully none of them broke open.

"Don't kill yourself before I get in there!" Clint laughed even though his eyes showed concern for the genius. Tony shifted to his knees and glanced over at the archer. Clint kneeled on the floor and pulled out a set of lock picks, taking the slower route to break into the room. Tony rolled his eyes.

"Ha, ha," Tony growled, grabbing for the first vial he could find. He paused before hooking it up into the Widow Bite closest to him. Bruce, the day before, had asked Tony for some vials in order to store something he had been working on. Tony had handed over some extra ones from his pile without question. It was now, as he stared at the vial in his hands that he wished that he had paid attention to what Bruce had been working on. The genius believed it had something to do with a time reversal serum, which he thought was ridiculous, so he must be wrong. But what Tony did remember was Bruce said the serum wasn't finished, so it should pose no danger to Clint if that's what he accidentally grabbed.

Tony loaded the vial into the closest Widow Bite and spun around. Clint, who had been on his knees a second before, was standing as the door slowly and menacingly opened. The archer was smiling, almost like he believed that Tony would put up a fight. Tony didn't wait a second. He lifted the Bite and pressed the newest button he installed to release a dart filled with the agent he had created. The dart landed in Clint's arm. Stumbling for a second in surprise, Clint looked down at it. For a moment the two just stared at it. That moment was broken when Clint looked back at Tony with a raised eyebrow.

"What was that supposed to do?" Clint questioned. Tony's shoulders dropped. Either he had used Bruce's serum or his sleeping agent didn't work. Figuring Bruce wouldn't be stupid enough to leave his serum behind; Tony assumed his sleeping agent didn't work. Clint was now smirking in humor.

"Supposed to put you to sleep," Tony grunted, looking at the Widow Bite with distain. He was certain that he and JARVIS had tested it well enough to know that it would work. What went wrong? Did it not go into the dart? Was it too weak? What? Clint nodded, accepting the answer with little more than that. He had no idea what Tony actually could have done to him.

"Be best to make sure it actually does work before trying it on an enemy. Wouldn't want them more ticked off at you then before," Clint suggested, humor tinting his voice. Tony sighed, agreeing with the archer. This day was just not his day.

"Yeah, that would have been smart," Tony muttered before dropping the Bite on his desk. Clint shifted to help Tony pick up all the items that had dropped off the two desks. Groaning, Tony leaned down as well. Absently, Tony noted that Clint didn't touch the vials, so instead he went for them and carefully handled them. "So, I lost again?"

"Basically. Good idea going to the lab, though," Clint replied. Tony nodded beginning to see why training like this was actually good. This was the tenth time Clint had run through an attack on the tower. Only once had he been anywhere close to winning and that had been when Clint decided to let JARVIS help. "We should get you some trust worthy weapons though. That don't rely on JARVIS to use. We can hide them throughout the tower."

"What is with you hiding weapons everywhere? I don't need a gun under my pillow," Tony moaned, dropping down to sit at his desk. He turned to face his, laying the vials carefully down so as to not break any before slamming his head down onto the desk. Clint snorted, shifting to sit on the corner of Bruce's desk.

"Not a gun, a dagger. And you have no idea how many assassin sneak up on people in bed. May be cliché but it works," Clint responded. Tony groaned.

"So basically, I should be prepared to be killed or attacked in every room?"

"No, the kitchen is safe… Well, unless you run to it while being attacked." Tony paused. He hadn't expected that. Slowly, he glanced over at Clint. Clint had a smile on his face, almost as if he was joking. Tony frowned.

"What?" he stammered. Clint smirked and stood up off the desk.

"The kitchen has too many dangers for a potential attacker. You got the knives, pots, pans, oven, stove, microwave, and other such things. Only a newbie or an idiot would start an attack there," Clint explained. Tony chuckled as he thought about attacking an enemy with a butter knife and a frying pan. "If you can get a good enough head start on an attacker, the kitchen or the lab is the best place to make a stand."

"Then you get to tell Pepper it's okay for me to hoard food in here," Tony joked. Clint laughed, shaking his head. Tony glanced over at the archer, beginning to worry that he had actually used Bruce's serum and not his sleeping agent. It would have made him somewhat tired by now, even if it was a small dose. "Aren't you even the tiniest bit sleepy?"

"No," Clint muttered wondering if that was a good or a bad thing. Wanting to blow it off as nothing, Clint focused on the genius. He smiled. "Guess you suck at sleeping agents."

"Yeah, I guess," Tony mumbled as he picked up some of the vials that had dropped onto the ground. Clint had thought it best not to touch them so they were all where Tony left them on the desk. Tony knew that he had created four vials that he marked with a pink line down the side. He was currently holding two of them and there were three more vials on the desk.

"Well, if you got the rest of this, I'm gonna go check out the security plans for the lower floors. Wouldn't want an employee to get hurt when someone tries to attack us," Clint said before turning to leave. Tony nodded, not really listening to Clint anymore. Used to being blown off by the genius, Clint shrugged and left. Tony didn't even notice. Instead he focused on the remaining vials. Picking them up as carefully as he could, Tony sorted through them. Four vials had a pink line. Panicking, Tony emptied the vial from the Widow Bite. No pink line.

"Shit," Tony cursed. "J! We need to make sure this crap didn't work."

"I have numerous records of Dr. Banner's various tests. Not a single version, including this one, worked in the way he had hoped. If you wish, I can load the tests onto your tablet before I go into my mandatory maintenance shut down tonight," JARVIS answered. Tony froze.

"Oh shit, is that tonight?" Tony called having forgotten all about it.

"Yes, I have been reminding you for the past week," JARVIS smartly retorted. Tony snorted. It would be like him to forget and even worse, not pay attention to the AI.

"Do our other guests know?"

"I have informed them multiple times as well, sir. But many of them are out for the night."

"Good… Good…" Tony muttered as he looked the vials. He couldn't help but feel that something was going to happen. "I'm gonna work on this... Leave my stuff running when you shut down."

"Very well, sir. I shall inform, Miss Potts that you may not return to bed tonight."

* * *

Clint was only asleep for around an hour when his eyes snapped open. He knew this because he had gone to sleep at around 11… It was now 12:15. With a deep sigh, Clint wondered what made him wake. He couldn't remember having a nightmare. There was no tell-tale sign of that vertical dropping jump that sometimes wakes him. The room was silent and the perfect temp as usual. So what woke him?

A sharp pain pierced his side. Almost like someone snapped one of his ribs in half. Panicked, Clint reached for his side only to find that his arms wouldn't move. In fact, his whole body was frozen stiff. Every muscle was locked into position. Assessing himself, Clint realized he had curled into a fetal position. Frowning, Clint tried to remember why but before a thought could form, more pain ripped through his frame. Stunned at the force of it, he gasped.

"Ah!" he cried, his voice sounding different from before. It was almost higher pitched. More pain made the archer thankfully unfreeze. Sadly, he had to use that moment to curl up tighter. It was here that Clint noticed something weird. His pajamas felt really loose. Almost like he had lost ten or more pounds in the time he slept. Glancing down at his feet, he saw that his bottoms were dangling down over his toes. It was almost like he had somehow been shrunk. His mind flashed to his training exercise with Tony. _'Stark! It had to be him!' _ Clint angrily thought to himself as more pain spread through him. This time he really focused on it. The feeling was strange. Not just pain but almost like he could feel his body changing and adjusting. But to what it was changing to, Clint couldn't guess. But he knew who could. "JA... JARVIS!" Clint gasped, forgetting the AI was down for the night. "JARVIS!"

No answer. Clint moaned when a stronger pain flowed over him. He couldn't believe this. _'Why can't JARVIS hear me?' _ Clint desperately thought. For a moment he wished that Natasha hadn't gone off on her mission so that she'd be either sleeping next to him or he'd be in her room. It was here that Clint remembered what happened at dinner when Natasha left. JARVIS had mentioned that he was going to be in maintenance mode and unresponsive. _'Of all freaking nights!' _ Clint moaned. The pain was beginning to get worse. But Clint suddenly found he couldn't cry out. Actually, all his muscles seemed to have re-stiffened. He couldn't even breathe! _'I'm gonna die!' _Clint mentally cried, trying to think of a way to let someone know he was in trouble. Sadly, there was no way now. Slowly, he began to black out. His body taking that moment to relax enough to spike in pain.

"Nat!" he croaked just before completely fading out.

**ALMOST TWENTY - FOUR HOURS EARLIER**

Bruce was the first to wake up. It wasn't that unusual. Out of everyone, Bruce, Clint and Steve tended to trade off being the first ones awake. Today, Bruce won due to nervousness over visiting an old science friend. The doc had gotten in contact with this man over his experiment to get rid of Hulk. While Bruce was certain that his serum was right, it was too unstable. He couldn't tell if the serum would age him, turn him into a baby or worse, kill him outright. Never mind that JARVIS couldn't predict how Hulk would react to the serum. But, the man he was going to see had an idea on a final ingredient to stabilize the serum. Yawning, Bruce shook his head and entered the kitchen.

"JARVIS, please turn on the coffee machine," Bruce politely ordered. He didn't even look to see if the AI had done as asked. Without fail, JARVIS had always followed every order that anyone had given. So, without checking, Bruce got to work on the other items he needed for the communal breakfast that the Avengers enjoyed each morning. Bruce always enjoyed toast, scrambled eggs, and some fruit. Steve usually ate toast, eggs, sausage, bacon, and an apple or two. Clint was simple with scrambled eggs, bacon and a bagel. Natasha normally just had some fruit and toast. Occasionally she'd accept some eggs, sausage or bacon but never at the same time. Pepper would go for oatmeal with fruit and toast. Tony… Well, he tended to not eat but when he did, amazingly enough he stuck with berries. Thor was the biggest eater of all. Pancakes, waffles, pop tarts, sausage, bacon, eggs, toast, cereal, oatmeal and whatever else he could get the others to make. Thankfully he wasn't here so the menu was limited down.

"Good morning, Bruce," Steve called as he entered the room just as Bruce began working on the scrambled eggs for himself and Clint. Steve normally had his sunny side up and Bruce wasn't all that great at doing that. Bruce nodded a welcome to the super solider as he worked on stirring up the still watery mix. Steve grabbed for some more eggs and went to work on his set. Thankfully Tony had redone the main kitchen when the others moved in to make it almost as large as a five star restaurant's. "I thought I'd be the first one up this morning."

"Yeah, well… Couldn't really sleep," Bruce admitted. Steve paused in his work, allowing an egg yellow to burst. Groaning, Steve started over. Bruce smiled at the solider as he cracked open a bunch more eggs for another few servings. Though the kitchen was huge, the pots and pans were normal sized and sometimes couldn't carry the load.

"Is it about your friend?" Steve questioned. Bruce sighed but nodded.

"I haven't seen him since long before Hulk. And now, out of the blue, he had something that could help me? It just..." Bruce trailed off, unsure what to say. Steve nodded, understanding what Bruce meant.

"You don't believe him?" Steve asked. Bruce paused, surprised that Steve hit at the heart of the issue. Slowly he sighed and then shrugged, turning to face the solider.

"I don't know. I… I've been betrayed so many times in the past. But… I just can't go around not trusting people for the rest of my life," Bruce mumbled. Steve frowned deeply. He didn't realize the amount damage that had been done to Bruce in his past. Who wouldn't believe their friends? Why would someone use that connection?

"It's important to trust people," Steve replied, unsure how to respond. Bruce paused and wondered if the super solider meant the team or his old friend. Sighing, Bruce finished with the eggs and began to work on the bacon.

"Yeah, guess it is," Bruce muttered, still unsure who he meant. Steve smiled, almost as if he sensed what was bothering Bruce.

"Hey, don't worry. I'll be there too," Steve soothed. Bruce nodded. He had almost forgotten that Fury had ordered Steve to watch over Bruce. Apparently, Hulk had garnered a lot of attention lately, especially considering the green guy was part of the Avengers. Never mind that Bruce had mentioned the fact that he was worried about visiting this friend when he mentioned it. It was then that Natasha entered the kitchen. Neither man had noticed that she dropped a rather full looking bag in the hall or that she was dressed in her S.H.I.E.L.D uniform.

"How long till breakfast?" she greeted as she moved toward the fridge to grab some fruit. Bruce turned to look at her and nodded a greeting. Steve paused in his egg making to smile warmly at her. Bruce focused on the amount of food that the duo had cooked before calculating the time left.

"Ten more minutes or so," Bruce estimated as Steve finished his eggs and began to work on the sausages. Nodding, she opened the fridge door. Scrounging around for a minute or too, she backed out with an apple in her mouth and another one in her hand. Bruce sighed. "Not joining us?"

"Got a mission brief in an hour," Natasha moaned, munching on the bite of apple that she had in her mouth. Steve frowned. The day before, Thor had returned to the tower, after visiting Jane Foster and claimed that he needed to visit Asgard and would not return for some time. Then Bruce had mentioned his meeting and Steve remembered volunteering to escort the good doctor. Now Natasha was leaving on a mission. Was someone trying to separate them all? And if so, why? What would happen if they all split up?

"I still work for S.H.I.E.L.D. You can't stop that," Natasha told Steve as she misunderstood his upset expression. Steve looked up at her in surprise. Did she really think that that was what was bothering him?

"I know!" Steve defended. His face turned to more perplexed. "But I just… Don't like us all splitting up right now."

"It's gonna happen. Nothing you can do about it," Natasha mentioned. Steve nodded, feeling like something was going to happen while he watched over Bruce. Natasha bit into her first apple and chewed on the fruit as she watched Steve. Bruce finished his last bit of food for breakfast and began shifting everything over to the table. At this point, Natasha might actually have time to join them in their meal.

"Can you tell us about this mission?" Steve inquired, finishing the last bit of his own cooking. Natasha frowned, biting into her apple again to delay her answer. She thought about it before shaking her head no. Steve understood but didn't like it one bit. He was the leader of the Avengers. He should know what they are doing and where they were all going to be. "How long will you be gone?"

"A week if we're lucky. If not, maybe a month or two," Natasha admitted. Steve nodded, really not liking the time table that she gave. Figuring the conversation was done and knowing that she had to get going soon, she backed up toward the hall. "Well, I better get going."

"Bye," Steve and Bruce called together as Natasha turned around and ran right into a still half asleep Clint. Surprised, Clint shot out with the heel of his palm aiming straight at Natasha's jaw. She dodged before grabbing Clint's wrist. Spinning it and themselves around, Natasha pinned Clint to the nearest wall with his arm behind his back.

"You awake now?" Natasha muttered into Clint's ear. Clint nodded. She hesitated for only a moment before releasing him. Once free, Clint shifted to look at her while holding his now red wrist. Natasha waved to her ears, making sure that the archer's hearing aids were in. Clint nodded again pouting as he wished that he had been more aware of what was going on around him.

"Sorry," he mumbled, sounding pretty much like crap. Natasha shrugged it off but looked him over. It looked like he was suffering from a hangover or something. Figuring that Steve and Bruce could deal with the archer fine, she turned and grabbed her bag. Clint frowned at the rather heavy looking object. "Mission?"

"Yep," she answered before heading toward the elevator. Pressing the down button, she then turned to Clint as she waited. Clint sighed. This day was so not turning out how he had hoped.

"See ya," he said as the doors opened. She nodded before entering and watched him turn toward the kitchen as the doors closed. Clint moaned to himself as he headed into the kitchen, bypassed Bruce and Steve before entering the sitting area and plopping himself down. Steve and Bruce just ignored it as they continued to put the food down on the table. Once done, they joined him. Slowly, the duo began filling up their own plates but they watched as Clint didn't do the same. A few minutes passed as Bruce and Steve enjoyed breakfast until finally, Bruce looked to Steve to see if the solider had noticed that Clint wasn't eating.

"Clint, are you feeling well?" Bruce wondered, ever the doctor even if that actually wasn't his field of study. Jerked out of his thoughts, Clint looked up at the doc and nodded. Bruce's frown deepened when the archer didn't actually speak. It had only been a month since Clint's recent brush with death. The same month where Clint had opened up to everyone but since then… He seemed rather reluctant to stay open. "You going to eat?

"Uh… Not really hungry," Clint admitted but to sooth the doc, he grabbed an extra slice of toast. Bruce and Steve decided to let the subject die there. Something was wrong, they just didn't know what.

"So, it's just you and Tony for a couple of days," Steve mentioned, trying to start a conversation with the archer. Clint looked at him in surprise. Slowly, Steve could see realization dawn on him. With Thor in Asgard, Natasha having just left on a mission, and Steve escorting Bruce to see his old friend, that just left the genius and Clint.

"Oh… Huh," Clint mumbled, already formulating plans in his head as to what to do.

"Gonna do anything special?" Steve inquired, knowing that Clint was already planning things. Clint shrugged as his mind was working slower than normal.

"Hadn't really thought of anything," Clint said, having yet to form a full plan in his head. Steve nodded.

"Why not try some training?" Steve suggested. Bruce snorted, an image of Tony in the Iron Man armor dodging arrows as Clint kept a rapid fire pace forming in his mind. Steve smiled as Clint's face let up. Apparently, the archer had a similar image. Or something a bit more detrimental to Tony's health.

"Training? Yeah!" Clint called, sounding rather maniacal. Bruce and Steve traded looks as they wondered if this was a good idea. A large smiled formed on Clint's face as he finally began to load his plate up with food. Training required energy. To get energy, he needed to eat. Steve frowned. Maybe this was the bad feeling he was getting. And dang it all, he started it. "Could be a lot of fun."

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**So what do you think? I'm so excited for this story. I couldn't wait to post it! I'm not done with it yet but I have like 23 or 24 chapters already finished. I haven't counted in a while and the ideas just keep flowing. Oh my god! I hope you all like it. Anyways, I hope to post once a week.**

**For those of you who have read my other stories and know about my currently 1 and a half year old, he is doing okay. Having a large spout of diarrhea which is causing a really bad diaper rash that no amount of creams seem to be fixing. We've been in and out of his doctor's office at least four times this week alone over it but he is still a rather happy kiddo. He still isn't really speaking. Basically 'dad', 'all done', 'I did it', and 'no'. We're starting to get 'more' but nothing else. He seems to understand what we want from him and so we think he just wants to wait until he is sure he has it perfected before trying. Who knows. Either way. Until next week!**


	2. Chapter 2

**And here is Chapter 2. BTW, this chapter is only actually 3,912 words long... I wrote responses at the bottom... Sry...**

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Tony ended up waking at seven o'clock to a cold shudder. Something that normally never happened in his temperature controlled living spaces. Frowning, he mentally inspected himself. He didn't feel sick, just cold. Something else was different. Just his body was freezing. Opening his eyes, Tony discovered he was lying on his bed in just his boxers. But the genius was certain that he had covered himself with sheets and blankets before sleeping. Glancing over, Tony was shocked to see coppery red hair spilling out from a large bundle of blankets beside him. This was a sight he wasn't used to seeing. Pepper wasn't one to steal blankets. In fact, she actually normally slept under a different set from Tony as he had to have a thicker set to keep the Arc reactor from lighting up the room. Yet here it was, displayed out in the open. And Pepper was curled, face down on the bed. Tony frowned.

"Pep?" Tony grunted as he crossed his arms to try and warm himself. Something must have happened to JARVIS for the temp control to stop working. Pepper didn't move at the sound of his voice. Frowning, Tony nudged her with his elbow. Technically, it was rare for him to see her in the morning so he actually didn't know she wasn't a morning person. His greeting was a groan of anger that was filled with sleep. He blinked rapidly in surprise. Before bed, Pepper had mentioned to Tony that JARVIS better be online in the morning to wake her as she had an important meeting at eight. A quick glance at the illuminated clock on the other side of the blanket hut showed it was near that time. "Pepper?"

"What?" came the grumbled groan. Tony smiled at the sound. It sounded so much like him. How he so wanted to make fun of her right now even though he knew it wouldn't be right. No need to press his luck. He knew how cranky he could get in the morning, who knew how bad she could get, especially when running late.

"Uh… It's 7:40," Tony mentioned. Pepper shot up so fast that the blankets were tossed to the end of the bed. Tony moaned at the loss of the sheets but didn't comment on it. Felt it was best to keep silent especially at Pepper's girlish ear splitting screech.

"Oh my god! Why didn't JARVIS wake me? I need to shower, dress, do my makeup, do my hair…" Pepper trailed off as she rushed to stand. It was after her scream of shock that Tony began to wish he had carpeted his floor rather than used hard wood. She jumped back onto the bed and sent an accusatory glare at Tony. "What happened? What is going on? Why is it freezing?"

"Something happened to JARVIS. I have to get down to my lab," Tony answered but as he looked to the floor, he groaned. He really didn't want to step foot on that really cold floor. But considering he was already cold, Tony figured it wouldn't be too much of an issue. Slowly, he stepped onto the floor and was amazed when he felt no difference between that and the air. Nodding to himself in a rather pleased manner, Tony stood up and headed toward the door to their room. Pepper frowned at him leaving in just his boxers but knew Tony wouldn't really dress himself even if she asked. At least no one was really in the towers to see him except her.

"When will JARVIS be back online?" Pepper meekly called from the bed. Already she could hear the demands of other employees and members from her meeting insisting she give them an answer. Since none of them tended to deal with Tony, Pepper could already feel a headache forming. She knew Tony wouldn't commit to an actual time line but she had to try. Tony glanced back at her and shrugged. He really wouldn't know until he went down to his lab and checked everything out. She sighed at him.

"Could be an hour, could be tomorrow. Don't really know. Depends on what happened," Tony told her. Pepper nodded, figuring that would be her answer. Timidly she moved to stand up herself. Tony snorted at the shudder that ran through her frame as she draped her feet on the hardwood floor. "I'll tell you after your meeting!"

"Okay," Pepper said, knowing that she'd have to find Tony to get the answer after the meeting. Tony always forgets what he tells her. She didn't even notice Tony slip out of the room with a nod as he headed down to his lab to start work. Slowly, she stood up, her thin nightgown letting in more of the cold air than she expected. Another chill ran up her spine but a glance at the clock on her nightstand told her that she couldn't wait. She had to shower, now. If only JARVIS was online to try and delay the meeting by an hour or more...

* * *

A floor above, Clint cuddled down into a blanket bundle. Every blanket he had in his room normally laid beneath him on the bed but in his sleep, Clint had unconsciously moved each one above him. Now he lay curled up in a little ball trying to stay warm. A cough escaped his lips but it was still rather light and so he didn't wake. He just curled up on himself some more. If JARVIS was active, the AI would be putting a call into Banner for Clint was beginning to show signs of a fever. Course, that wouldn't be the only reason JARVIS would call Bruce. But sadly, JARVIS was still down. Another cough racked through Clint and his lungs crackled as he inhaled afterwards. Groaning, he rolled over, making sure that his blanket fort covered him. Snuggling down, Clint tried his hardest to get warm.

* * *

JARVIS's issue ended up being a bigger deal than Tony had originally thought. He had believed that in the maintenance mode, JARVIS may have accidently messed up some of his coding. And while that was slightly true, Tony also found some smoking circuitry. Clint's electrical arrow had more punch to it then Tony had planned for. The electricity had raced through the lab door and into JARVIS's main circuit board. Considering how old some of the circuits were, they burst. An issue that wouldn't have happened until... Well, until JARVIS went to maintenance mode and tested each circuit.

So now, Tony got to spend his lovely, freezing cold, morning going through all of JARVIS's circuits and replacing each and every one of them. While it would have been simple to fix just the damaged ones, Clint's training had proved that Tony had to step up his game and be prepared for shit like this. God forbid someone had tried to attack last night. Tony paused in his work.

"Great, now he's got me all fricken paranoid!" Tony grumbled. Even though he wasn't pleased with the idea, Tony continued to find himself thinking of all the different safety parameters that he'd have to change or even create. It was almost just exhausting thinking of it all, never mind actually doing it. With a sigh, Tony shook his head and continued replacing JARVIS's circuits. It wasn't much longer before Pepper came into the lab. She was still dressed from the meeting but she also had a small scarf wrapped around her neck. In her hands was a thick heavy blanket which she draped over Tony's still bare back. He hadn't even noticed that he was still in his boxers and was shaking from the chill.

"It's still cold here," Pepper moaned as a greeting. The genius paused to realize what had happened. He was suddenly a little warmer but he hadn't done anything to make that happen. Glancing around, he noticed Pepper standing behind him. She looked cold and slightly ticked off. His mind filtered what she had just said and he almost snapped at her. All morning he had been getting pissed off. Pissed at JARVIS for choosing this night to go into maintenance mode, pissed that it was the middle of January, and so much more. So, knowing his snark back at her would be worse than normal, Tony just took a breath and then dove back into the wires. Pepper waited a minute. "Having a hard time?"

"Just tedious work," Tony grunted as he tossed a bunch of wires that had melded together toward the trash. Pepper frowned as it missed the bin. Dum-e quickly shifted forward the grab the bundle and proudly tossed it into the bin. Pepper smiled at the little bot. She was slightly thankful that the three bots that Tony had didn't run off the same system as JARVIS. It would have been really upsetting if anything happened to them. Hell, the duo had done a little funeral for them after the Mandarin had destroyed the Malibu house and done a lot of damage to the bots then. Thankfully, Tony had been later able to go done into the ocean and rescue them. "Gonna take some time."

"How much?" Pepper asked, knowing that her office phone was filled with complaints about the temp and how long it was taking to restore JARVIS. Tony glanced back at her. His face was twisted in anger. She shrugged trying to show that she could care less. Tony sighed, he knew it wasn't really her but it was her mentioning it. "Got some complaints."

Tony knew she was downplaying the actual amount of complaints. As much as she didn't know, her phone was hooked up to a separate e-mail account that he had loaded up on a tablet that sat beside him. This tablet was also the main connection he had with JARVIS. Each message on her phone went straight to this account and shifted to text format. Tony would then read each and every one. Not that it took him much time to read the complaints as he worked. Especially seeing as most complaints were pretty much word for word the same thing. It just got aggravating that a lot of employees thought that Tony was sitting on his ass, not doing a damned thing about it.

"Well, sorry. Can't do much about that. Going as fast as I can. Two more hands would help. Or maybe four. Yeah... That Doc Ock really had a good idea. Cept when he turned evil. That wasn't good..." Tony trailed on, talking more and more about Doctor Octavius. Pepper shook her head, knowing that Tony would be on this topic for a while now. Thankfully, while he spoke, he continued working. Pepper silently watched the genius work. Within seconds, she got confused as to what the billionaire was doing. Knowing she couldn't be of help, she sat down on a nearby chair and watched. Sensing her watching him, Tony turned to look at her after finishing his rant. "You gonna lend a hand?"

"And do what?" Pepper countered. Tony looked back at his work with a frown. He couldn't even trust his bots to help him with this work. How could he trust Pepper, a woman who never worked with his machines? With a sigh of resignation, Tony realized he was basically on his own. In the amount of time it would take for him to tell Pepper what to do, he'd already had finished four things. Behind him, Pepper smiled. Things usually worked out easier for Tony when he worked out the problem on his own. If you explained it for him, he tried to argue with you for hours until he finally saw your point. But if you waited a few minutes and let him figure it out on his own, you'd save yourself some time. Pepper learned that very quickly on in their relationship.

The two continued to silently do what they were doing. Tony worked on fixing JARVIS and Pepper watched him. It didn't take much longer before Tony began to feel the prickling of Pepper's stare beginning to bother him. Considering how much was already bothering him, he didn't want to say something to her that he'd regret. So, he needed to get rid of her.

"Why don't you go check on our house guests?" Tony suggested, rolling his shoulders to show her his agitation at her watching him. Pepper stiffened and looked away from the genius. She hadn't heard from any of the other Avengers and it hadn't dawned on her till Tony said something. but as she thought about why not, she remembered. Everyone had left the night before. Everyone but her, Tony and...

"Have you seen Clint?" Pepper questioned just as Tony began working on the last circuit. He paused for only a moment before it clicked into place. Right away the heat kicked on and the tablet beside Tony began to rapidly fill with code. Forgetting what Pepper had asked, Tony clapped his hands together in a wiping manner as if cleansing himself of the situation. Knowing that it'd take another few minutes before JARVIS finished restarting, Tony turned to Pepper. He gave her a satisfied smirk that was returned with a worried look. Frowning, he looked around to see what was wrong. Not figuring it out, he focused on her again.

"What?"

"Clint?" she pressed. Tony's frown deepened. He hadn't seen him since... He shot the archer with Banner's serum! Without a word of explanation to Pepper, Tony raced off in the direction of the stairs. Pepper jumped to her feet and looked off in the direction that the genius had rushed off to. "Tony? Tony!"

* * *

Meanwhile, upstairs, Clint groaned as he finally began to wake. His whole body ached like he had been in a three day long fight but at the same time it tingled as if everything had relaxed to the point that the blood stopped flowing. But most of all, he felt cold. Peering his eyes open, Clint noticed a small slit in his bundle of blankets. Reaching out with a small hand, Clint closed the gap without even noticing. Sighing as some of the cold vanished, he tried to go back to sleep when something began to tickle his chest. It was a feeling he hadn't felt for years. Almost since he was six years old. Because of such, Clint didn't realize what was happening until he fell into a long coughing fit the had him gasping for air like a fish out of water. In shock, Clint sharply sat up to try and get air. The blankets fell off his racking frame and draped around his waist and lap.

As he coughed, a long crashing noise happened over by his front door. Wishing he could cry out for help, Clint continued to gasp on his bed as his body continued to suck in air just to quickly cough it out. Another loud crash meant that someone had busted through the door and Clint was certainly pleased when Tony and Pepper appeared at the doorway from his living room to his bedroom. Tony froze in the door but Pepper frantically pushed past and dropped onto the bed behind Clint. She began mixing a rub and pat on his back to help soothe his coughing.

A minute or two later, Clint's coughing calmed down. Grateful for being able to breathe, Clint leaned back into Pepper, not noticing the sudden height difference from before. Pepper stiffened slightly at the act but relaxed as she continued to rub the archer's back. Slowly she looked up at Tony. His eyes were blown wide in shock and terror as he stared at the sight before him. It was because of this that Pepper knew she wasn't imagining what she was seeing as well. But neither said anything considering Clint apparently had no idea what had happened to him.

"Thanks," Clint croaked, his voice cracking not only because of his coughing but because of what had happened to him the night before. Pepper nodded while staring down at Clint with a mix of surprise, fear, and worry. Too distracted by his friends in his room to look down at his frame, Clint looked over at Tony. "Man, why is it so cold?"

"Cl... Clint?" Tony shockingly called as he stared at the maybe 4 year old form in front of him. Clint frowned, confused at the questioned. Slowly, he nodded, wondering if Tony hit his head on something before barging into his room. Pepper raised a hand to her mouth in an effort to stifle her own gasp of surprise at the admission. Clint turned to her before looking back at Tony. Feeling self-conscious, Clint scrambled out of bed but tripped on his pajama bottoms and face-planted into the ground. Groaning, Clint turned around.

"Ow... What the-" Clint grumbled before stopping. He looked down at his legs and noticed how they were tangled in his clothing and how the pants were hanging by his ankles. Quickly kicking them off, Clint scurried to his feet and stared down at his shorter body. Pepper blushed and looked away quickly before realizing that Clint's pajama top was big enough to cover his small frame down to his knees. Stunned, she slid off the bed and dropped to her knees beside Clint. No one spoke as Clint looked up at her and realized that on her knees, she was as tall as him. Outraged, Clint turned to Tony. "WHAT DID YOU DO?"

"Me? Why me? Why not you?" Tony accused as if it made a difference who cause this. Clint stared at the genius in a sort of stunned silence before another cough escaped his lips. Ignoring the rest of what was going on, Pepper raised a hand to Clint's forehead.

"Oh my god! You're burning up!" Pepper declared. Clint shrugged, not used to being worried about what he was sick with. No, right now he was focused onto why he was a young boy once again.

"Wait? So he's sick and a kid?" Tony moaned. Pepper nodded as Clint suddenly seemed to change colors and rush into his bathroom. The door slammed shut but both could still hear the tell-tale sounds of vomiting. Tony winced. "Natasha's gonna kill me."

Pepper frowned at her boyfriend before going over to the door. There was still sounds of vomiting mixing in with sounds of coughing. She sighed deeply, wondering what to do. Depending on Clint's new age, his body may not be up to handling whatever he may have. And already the Avengers had once had to deal with Clint getting three illnesses all at the same time. God-forbid that happened again. She knocked lightly just as there was a loud sound of a toilet flushing. Smiling lightly, she knocked again.

"Yeah?" came the muted call back. Pepper tested the handle and found the door wasn't even locked. Slowly, she entered. She grimaced at the smell of vomit the emitted from the small room. Thankfully she had gotten used to it mostly thanks to the various times of having to deal with Tony's many hungover experiences.

"You okay?" she asked. Clint glanced down at the toilet before his body. This was totally embarrassing. But at least it was on par with being ill from before.

"Other than being six years old again, yeah," Clint moaned. Tony appeared behind Pepper in the doorway.

"How can you tell that you're six?" he questioned. Clint looked up at the genius.

"The scars," he replied softly. Tony winced, remembering when Clint briefly described his past to the other Avengers. Pepper hadn't been involved during that but Tony had gotten Clint's permission to tell her. Her eyes softened even more in sadness before Clint dramatically dropped to the floor in a heavy coughing fit. Pepper rushed to his side.

"Tony! We have to do something!" she cried. Tony froze.

"What? What do we do?" Tony answered back. Pepper glanced down at Clint as he coughed up something brown. Neither one could tell if he coughed up something he vomited, something from his lungs or dried up blood. Either way, Pepper and Tony couldn't deal with this.

"We have to bring him to a hospital!" Pepper declared. Tony nodded. He totally agreed with that.

"Hospital... Yeah, hospital," Tony mimed but still stood in the door. Clint coughed again, sounding rather wet before it morphed into another vomiting spell where the dinner from the night before splattered all over the bathroom floor. Tony grimaced at the sight but didn't move. Pepper gagged a little at the sight and smell but noticed Tony hadn't moved.

"Tony!" she shouted. Tony looked at her before realizing he should look up the closest hospital and get a car ready to transport them to it.

"Right!" he muttered before spinning around and headed into Clint's living room. Luckily, Tony had made sure to set up each apartment with their own computer so all he had to do was turn that on. It booted up rather quickly and Tony began loading pages as fast as he could.

Meanwhile, Pepper watched in misery as Clint kept switching between coughing and vomiting on the floor. She rubbed his back and tried to forget the tears that she saw drifting down his face as his body kept basically rejecting everything. It wasn't long after Tony left that Clint began to calm down. He would continue to randomly dry heave, but Pepper chalked that up to leaning over his still warm vomit. Slowly, he leaned back and sighed. The tears still leaking down his face.

"You good to move?" Pepper softly asked. Clint slowly nodded. With her help, he got to his feet and the two left the bathroom. She only let go for a second to turn back and close the bathroom door. Feeling better in the fresher air, Clint dropped down onto his bed. Seeing that he was fine, she drifted over toward his closet.

"My clothes are in the dresser," Clint told her before she even had a chance to open the doors. Frowning at the closet, Pepper wondered what actually was in there before heading over to the dresser that the small boy pointed too. "Not like any of it will fit right now."

"Well, we need something to being you to the doctors," Pepper declared as she removed a random black tee and dingy dark shorts. She glanced at the other drawers, wondering if she should grab him some underwear or let him go commando.

"Belts are in the bottom on the right," Clint mumbled as he dropped backwards on the bed. Pepper looked back at him worried. His face was beginning to flush and he looked like he was going to be sick again. Going a little faster than before, she grabbed the drawer top and opened it enough to see a belt and pull it out. She only had three seconds of wondering how to dress Clint before Tony came back into the room.

"I found a hospital!" he cried. She looked at him before smiling. Tony watched as she thrusted the clothes into his hands. Tony grabbed onto them and gave her a confused look. "What are these for?" He looked between her and Clint before realization dawned on him. Clint started chuckling lightly before coughing a few times. "Ah, hell no!"

* * *

**OMG! This got really popular, really fast! Totally did not expect that. Awesome! Thanks, everyone who read and especially those below.**

**For those wondering, Baby Clint is doing a lot better now. He is on an allergy med and isn't having any runny nose or leaking ears. His diarrhea has slowed down and from what I hear from my husband and the daycare lately (as I haven't had the chance to change him for the past three days) his diaper rash is clearing nicely. His is a happy camper and a few days ago told his father that he wanted to go to Disney without any prompt from anyone, lol. It was awesome.**

**Anyways, hope you all like this chapter and can't wait to see you next week. Sorry I can't post faster but at least I should be consistent.**

* * *

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**Followers: **KliqzAngel, Niom Lamboise, ELOSHAZZY, grishma239, pattycake1971, TimeyWimeyGirl4, Alovelyturd, XmuffinPrincessX, Death-Sama01, leleana, Your Friend Tiger, alex97, sweetdreamsAO3, PhantomStricker14, FangirlCB12, wolvesowl, gess789

**Reviews Responses:**

_M klindt_ – Thanks and I've been told that about kids many times before but my pediatrician keeps trying to rush Clint along faster and faster. Maybe because he seems to be the size of a two year old right now even those he's only one and a half. Lol.

_TimeyWimeyGirl4 _– I wish I could post in smaller intervals but I only get a limited time on the computer to work. I use that time to type up the newest chapters that I have handwritten throughout the week and edit the chapter that I want to post. Basically, I only get Friday evenings to write on the computer and even then sometimes I don't even get that. Sometimes I have to try and fit it in on Saturday or Sunday. So I try my best. I'm hoping to finish this story by the end of the month so I can get to work on my next story and have that finished before I finish posting this story. But who knows. Lol.

_ELOSHAZZY _– Eczema…. Hmm… Never thought of that. I'll have to mention it to his doc… Right now we are waiting on a GI doctor to call us back so we can get in control of his diarrhea. And we recently found out he may be allergic to cats or dust or maybe pollen.. ARGH! So we have to go get him a blood test for allergies. At least we already had a ENT doc to help with that. He's on an allergy med now and it's helping with his runny nose and ear drainage from his ear tubes which is nice but it worries us cause we don't know what its working on. Well, here's hoping it's not cats.

_5mairer_ – I'm glad you and your friends love my stories and I'm sorry I can't post more often. I wish I could but I don't want to post three times in one week and then have you guys have to wait three weeks for my next post cause I get busy or backed up for some reason. Doing it this way I at least have a safety net, ya know?

_Niom Lamboise_ – I wish I could have seen it too. LOL. God, if only the writers of the comics or shows could find this site and turn some of the best fanfics into comics or cartoons, it'd be awesome. Glad you can't wait.

_Lokiismylife_ – I'm glad you this it looks interesting. I feel it is very interesting and funny. I can't wait until you all get to the chapters I am currently working on. Gets very suspenseful.

_sammygirl1963_ – I'm glad you think it was an awesome start. We actually do have Butt Paste and amazingly, it isn't working… Actually, nothing is working except baths…. But we have been watching as it's slowly decreasing and the doctors aren't really all that concerned with it (which is pissing me off) and as mentioned to ELOSHAZZY, we are going to see a GI specialist hopefully soon. So it should help. I just feel bad, since January, Clint has basically been sick with something… Ear infections, runny nose, colds, diarrhea, diaper rashes, and so on… It just bites… I hope it will all end soon and we can just get to being a healthy kiddo. At least he's still been a happy kiddo. ^_^

_FangirlCB12_ – Glad you love my new story. And Clint is doing better now. Most of the diarrhea has cleared up. Just a little watery… But better.

_Angie (guest)_ – I'm glad you think it's a good start. I like the kid fics too hence why it prompted me to try one. That and once I get pregnant with my own and wanted to name him Clint, my husband began making jokes about different things we'd do. Those jokes spurred me on into the story. A lot of what is actually written is based off of experiences with my own son. Thanks, Clint is feeling a lot better.


	3. Chapter 3

Needless to say, Tony did end up having to help Clint dress. Thankfully, as he still has his memory and dignity, Clint was smart enough to do the shorts first, belt second and shirt last so that Tony didn't actually see anything that would be embarrassing to either Avenger. Considering how often the boy coughed, Tony found he was rather much needed to help steady him and rub the archer's back. It took less than five minutes to dress Clint but even that much work seemed to have winded his younger, sick body. Tony just stood off to the side as he watched his friend try to catch his breath. The archer leaned against the wall, trying to act as if he didn't need it to help stand. Tony raised an eyebrow as Clint just glared at the floor.

"God, I hate this," Clint moaned after a bit. Tony nodded, wishing there was something he could do to help. Helping to fix a computer issue, or fixing a car, or hell, even buying things, Tony could easily do all that. But healing someone who is sick, or even figuring out how Clint changed into a kid again, Tony couldn't figure out on his own. Slowly, the boy looked up to face the genius. His blue eyes looked glazed but tired and stressed. Tony winced in sympathy. AS Clint spoke, his head dropped to face the ground again. "I mean, honestly, why is it always me? Why do I always get tortured? What did I do to deserve all this?"

"Don't know. Maybe someone out there really likes you?" Tony joked. Clint raised an eyebrow as he looked back up at the genius. Tony shrugged as the boy dropped into a couple of coughs that left him gasping for breath. Moving forward to follow Pepper's normal soothing methods, Tony began rubbing Clint's back. The genius frowned as he realized he could basically feel Clint's bones underneath his skin and shirt. He hadn't paid any attention to it when he was dressing him. "Whoa, calm down."

"I'm good," Clint crocked after a minute more of coughing. Tony nodded, unsure if he believed the six year old or not. Just for good measure, Clint's body betrayed him and coughed. Tony snorted but backed away. Figuring that Clint knew his body better than Tony ever would, Tony tilted his head to one side.

"You good to head downstairs?" Clint nodded at this before slowly beginning to stand. Tony had to help him to his feet but once they did, Tony began encouraging Clint toward the elevator. Before they could even make it out of Clint's apartment, a voice called out to them. Clint stopped at the sound, curious as to what it was. Tony stopped as well, thinking it had more to do with Clint's illness than to it was the voice.

"Sir, I am receiving an elevated temp-" JARVIS suddenly supplied but stopped when Tony began tutting at the AI. Clint arched an eyebrow at the sudden interference from the AI. The newly turned boy had no idea why it had taken so long for JARVIS to suddenly notice. He actually hadn't been paying much attention to it. Neither Avenger really noticed that they stopped just inside the door to Clint's apartment/room.

"All ready know J. Bringing Clint to a hospital to get it checked on. A little slow this morning," Tony told the AI. Clint smirked at the interaction. Realizing that Clint wasn't fully informed as to what happened to JARVIS, Tony looked down at the kid. JARVIS quickly went through Clint's computer's history to find the hospital information that Tony had found. The AI checked out the reviews and made sure it was good enough for the group to travel as Tony and Clint continued speaking. "J broke last night. That's why it was cold this morning."

"Ah," Clint replied as if it made a difference to him. Right now, he could feel another large bout of coughing trying to inch its way up. He was holding back to try and at least make it to the elevator.

"I am now running at full capacity. Normal room temperature has been achieved in each room. Defense system is back online. I am now checking on all lost data and recovering what I can," JARVIS informed the two. Clint whistled in an effort to show he was impressed with the amount of work that JARVIS had already done. Tony smiled, glad that it was only the AI's circuits that had gotten damaged and not the code. JARVIS was too important to his life. No, it was more like the AI was Tony's life. "Shall I cancel the medical call to Dr. Bruce Banner?"

"Yes! Hell, YES!" Tony shouted to the AI. Clint frowned but was quickly forced to cover his mouth in a coughing fit that ended with a loud sneeze. Tony glanced down at Clint in surprise as Clint gave him a sheepish shrug. "Bless you."

"What's wrong with Bruce?" Clint grumbled. Tony smirked, forgetting that basically only he, Bruce and Pepper knew about JARVIS's instructions.

"After last time where you got sick, JARVIS started monitoring all our vitals. When he deems something wrong with anybody, he calls Bruce to let the doc analyze the data. If Bruce thinks that something is indeed wrong, then whoever is called by JARVIS to get to whoever is in need," Tony said. Clint groaned at knowing this was because of him. Just cause Natasha had told them that he tended to ignore issues until it was either too late, or too big. Tony snorted. "If it makes you feel better, Pepper made the program to watch me. She wanted someone to make sure I was partly taking care of myself. Once Bruce moved in and found out about it, he changed it to watch everyone. It was after you that the program changed to call Bruce."

"I thought only you controlled JARVIS." Tony laughed. Most people tended to assume that.

"I run his code. That's it. He's AI. So you ask him to make sure you train for four hours a day, JARVIS writes his own program to make sure you don't go over or under that many hours a day."

"So, anyone can ask him to do something?" Clint coughed. Tony nodded.

"As long as it does not break my prime directives, and Sir allows it, I aim to serve," JARVIS called. Clint raised an eyebrow at that and somehow that was all JARVIS needed to know before continuing. "I will not hurt Sir, Miss Potts, or other guests of Stark Towers or other properties that I have been installed into. I will not do illegal actions unless for the betterment of my approved list or Sir demands it of me. I will not act on my own unless it interferes with my other rules. I will not go 'Skynet'. I will not shut down the internet, no matter how much Sir says it will be fun."

"Skynet? Really?" Clint laughed. Tony shrugged.

"Happy got worried one night. All of those are written into his code so many times that even I can't change it. You would not believe how long it took to get all that in there," Tony declared as he suddenly realized that Clint needed to get downstairs. Knowing that JARVIS could continue speaking to them the entire way down, Tony slowly began to move Clint toward the elevator. "That's why whenever Pepper wants me to install a new directive, I try to fight her to make sure it's really for the best."

"When did you create JARVIS?" Clint wondered aloud. Tony smirked. This was his most favorite part about the AI's history. No one tended to believe it. Hell, there were even still many nights that he didn't believe it.

"At MIT. It was my final term. Can you believe he only got a B+? I almost made Obie sue," Tony joked before sobering at the old man's name. Clint winced, forgetting about Tony's own haunted history. Neither said a word as the boarded the elevator and descended. When they reached the proper floor, the doors opened to an angry Pepper Potts. She stood there in such a way that both Avengers almost wished they could turn and hide.

"What took so long?" she demanded. Tony pointed to Clint while Clint pointed at Tony. Pepper's eyes narrowed as she waited for one of them to own up. Neither did. With a deep sigh, she shook her head and rushed them into the waiting car. Right away, Clint began coughing and wheezing. "Step on it!"

* * *

"Where were you supposed to meet your friend?" Steve called to Bruce for the second time as the duo slipped past a crowd eagerly waiting for some sort of display. Bruce shrugged. His communications with his old friend ended after the doc had agreed to go to the convention to meet him. Bruce almost wondered if his friend thought this place wouldn't be as crowded as it was. No one really expected a science convention to get that popular. But when Stark Industries announced that they had a few tables (well actually it was more like half a room), people jumped at the idea of going. "You have any way of contacting him?"

"No. He just said we'd meet here," Bruce loudly said to Steve over the sudden screams of an excited group near a Stark Industries table. Bruce glanced over and saw Tony's face on a screen talking. He remembered the genius creating videos a couple weeks back but never knew what they were for. Apparently, now he knew. Steve winced at the noise, for the first time, wishing he never had super hearing. A large group of people then pushed their way between the two Avengers.

Steve focused on Bruce to make sure he was still basically following the doctor but when he crashed into someone, he was forced to look away. Bruce continued walking for a bit before realizing that something was wrong. Looking back, he noticed that Steve was splitting off from him and the solider was focused on his own path rather than the doc's. Another crowd merged into this one and Bruce began to feel slightly claustrophobic as he wondered if Hulk would consider any of this a threat. Backing away from the crowd and into a small alley built between stands, Bruce began to relax and hear something familiar. It was his phone. Wondering if it was his friend, even though he never handed out his number, Bruce answered without looking. "Hello?"

"Dr. Bruce Banner," a voice from behind him greeted. Bruce stiffened as he felt something stick into his back as the words were being spoken. It felt familiar and it took till Hulk unhappily growled for Bruce to realize it was a gun. Lowering the phone from his ear, Bruce looked down to see if it connected with whoever was calling. It read that the call had ended but that it had been made from Stark Towers, otherwise known as JARVIS. Oh how he so wished that it had stayed connected. Even if JARVIS just listened and didn't speak. "It would be very nice for all these innocent people if you kept calm and followed me."

"And you are?" Bruce countered, his eyes rapidly flicking over the crowd in search of Steve. Considering that both Avengers hadn't really been watching each other, it was no surprise that the super solider was nowhere in sight. It was now that Bruce was starting to see the trap snapping closed. A crowded convention, an old friend knowing just what he needed, no certain meeting point, no contact... For an unselfish moment, Bruce wondered if they had attacked his friend. "Is my friend still alive?"

"The solider or the scientist?" the person replied, ignoring the first question entirely. Bruce almost felt Hulk take over at the implication that Steve might be dead. "Don't worry. They both are fine. Hell, your 'Friend' doesn't even know you're here. The e-mails were sent by the group I represent."

"And who is that?"

"Advanced Idea Mechanics," was all Bruce was told before he heard a pop and felt a stinging sensation in his back. Hulk roared in his mind at the feeling but amazingly didn't surge forward. The time spent with the Avengers had soothed the beast enough that Hulk trusted them. Hulk knew that the others would try and look for Bruce. He would wait... Especially in this crowd... Bruce wouldn't like innocents getting hurt. Whirling around in shock, Bruce felt the numbness start and his world tilted as he lost his balance. The person, a woman now that Bruce could see her, caught him. Her mouth moved like she was talking to him but Bruce's slipping mind couldn't understand it.

"Why?" Bruce moaned, spotting other people coming to join them. The woman smiled but didn't answer. Bruce felt hands all over him before darkness fully took him.

* * *

"WHAT THE FUCKING HELL!" Tony shouted as he paced the waiting room for the hospital he had chosen to bring Clint too. Clint, who was still violently coughing every few minutes, had been subjugated to a corner of the area with a mask on his face. Pepper sat beside him, rubbing his back as she watched Tony pace the area. She didn't look pleased with him at all. An elderly couple watched Tony as he paced back and forth. The woman held a large plastic bag filled with medication while the man kept subconsciously rubbing his chest every few minutes. A teenage girl holding her arm to her chest leaned into her father's side as Tony ranted and raved. The father looked as displeased with Tony as Pepper was. But the girl seemed to be enjoying the 'show' that Tony was putting on as he ranted and raved. "We've been here for over an hour!"

"Tony, sit down," Pepper pleaded as Clint paused in his coughing to glare up at the genius. Tony ignored her. Instead he spun around and continued walking the clear area of the waiting room. It had actually been close to two hours that they had to wait. The elderly couple arrived only minutes after then, the woman claiming her husband had an appointment with one of the emergency doctors. A half hour later, the girl came in crying while her father checked her in. He demanded some pain meds for the girl, got them and they had been patiently waiting ever since. Luckily, everyone in the waiting room recognized Tony as Tony Stark but was nice enough to not report seeing him, Pepper Potts and an unknown child in the hospital waiting room. But, that wasn't going to last long.

"I've never seen such lazy staff!" Tony continued ranting. The girl snorted in laughter at him as she had been watching the workers rushing around like chickens with their heads cut off for most of the time that she had been there. "Not even gonna set us up with a room!"

"Tony!" Pepper called, louder this time. The genius waved her off. He was too used to getting things right away to deal with waiting like this. Clint coughed out laughter as he watched Tony spin on his heel and restart his pacing. He placed a hand on Pepper's leg and shook his head, pretty much telling the woman that it was just better to let Tony pace. Considering ten minutes after waiting, Tony had started bouncing his leg, this was much better. Sides, Clint liked the entertainment of watching people staring at Tony, wondering who he was to get so pissed off like this.

It was within this moment that a man walked in with a hand covering his nose and blood draining down his arm. The man's face was already turning black and blue, a sign that Clint used to know that this man had broken his nose. He walked up to the counter and briefly spoke to the woman at the desk. Tony turned around in time to see her usher the man into a small interview room. A room that took Clint nearly twenty minutes to get into. Less than three minutes later, a nurse brought a wheelchair around and the man was placed into before being brought into the back.

Clint's eyes widened in shock as he focused on Tony. The elderly couple had watched the exchange and knew what was going on. As soon as the man was brought into the back, the elderly man turned to look at Tony. A small smirk was on his face as he knew the same thing that Clint knew was going to happen. The girl tucked into her father's arm as she had been watching as well but her father had been distracted and hadn't seen much outside of the man with a lot of blood being escorted into the back.

"Oh shit, we're in for it now," Clint mumbled. Pepper nodded, having seen mostly the ending bit as well, just as Tony spun to look at them in outrage.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?" Tony screeched. The teen snickered again but looked to her father and saw that he was also rather upset at this. Even the elderly couple seemed to be on Tony's side. Pepper went to stand but Clint pushed his hand down on her knee and shook his head. Tony needed to get this out of his system. They watched as the billionaire spun on his heel and stomped up to the front desk. The nurse waiting there was oblivious to what was happening. "What the hell is wrong with you!"

"Excuse me?" the nurse replied in faux anger as she looked up at Tony. Everyone watched as it took her a few seconds to realize who she was speaking too and then her eyes widened in shock. Pepper sighed deeply. To avoid reporters flocking to this hospital and bothering everyone, Pepper had signed Clint in while Tony had parked and helped Clint inside to sit down. But considering how long they had waited and that neither Clint nor Tony understood the implications of what the public would be seeing right now, Pepper couldn't stop Tony now. She looked down at Clint now and just sighed. Slowly she shook her head. It was too late. "To... Tony... Tony Stark!?"

"Why the fuck did that guy go before us? We've been waiting forever!" Tony loudly complained. The woman looked horrified before she began fumbling for a phone to call someone in the back area. She dropped it numerous times which only seemed to make Tony more upset and her more clumsier. It took her an extra three or four minutes to actually make the much needed call. Tony stood over her as he watched her say some type of jargon into the phone. Before the nurse could even hung up, another nurse, a male this time, came out of the back. He looked flustered and held onto a chart that was beginning to drop to the floor. It was quickly put together and papers half hung out of it. Pepper and Clint could tell that more than likely, the nurses in the back dug through the other files to try and find this one before pulling it out. The duo wouldn't have been surprised if the nurses had actually dropped it once or twice either.

"Clint Barton?" the man announced, confused at the name considering he had been told to grab the longest wait and bring them back. Pepper and Clint stood as Tony threw his hands into the air. Everyone watched as Pepper and Clint moved toward the male nurse and Pepper wondered how quick the news would spread. Maybe she should have signed Clint in with Tony's last name. But... Would that have made it worse? Pepper had no idea. She glance back into the waiting room before the doors to the back closed. As Tony followed, Pepper could see the nurses and other hospital staff going for their phones but none of the other waiting patients did.

"FINALLY!" Tony shouted to the heavens as he moved to follow Pepper and Clint. Pepper sent him a withering look but continued helping the weak Clint toward the back area. It took a bit for them to get there and then to walk all around the emergency department to find an empty room. Clint glanced in each room and noticed that every room had someone in it. Many people looked like they had been in some sort of accident.

"What happened to them?" Pepper wondered aloud. The nurse glanced back at them. He glanced down at the file to see why Clint was being admitted. Then he got an angered expression.

"A pretty big accident nearby. It's why we've been so busy," he explained before ushering them into a room. Right away, he dug into a drawer and dropped a blue hospital gown down onto the bed. He slapped it down really. Clint groaned at the sight of it. He hated those things with a passion. "Everything off, opening in the back."

"It's just a cough and a fever, do I really need to?" Clint whined, playing off his younger form. No need to tell the doctors that he was actually around 27 years old and Tony had somehow de-aged him. The man nodded. Frowning, Clint began working on his clothes, not glancing at Pepper or Tony. Pepper shifted to the back corner of the room in an effort to not look at the boy. Tony made sure to block the nurse's view of Clint's rather scarred back, just in case they tried to blame either of them. Once the boy was done, the nurse turned around to see Tony.

"Excuse me," he said. Tony glanced back at Clint and the boy nodded. Feeling better, Tony backed off. The nurse shook his head and began getting the readings he needed, like temp, blood pressure, oxygen level and other such things. He even questioned Clint on a few things like when this started, had it gotten worse, any other symptoms and such. Normal things that Clint was used too and even started answering before the nurse finished asking. When he was done, he stood and headed to the door. Tony stood to stop him but wasn't fast enough. "The doc will be here soon."

"Seriously?" Tony cried when the nurse left and closed the door. He cried out so loud that no one heard the click of the lock to keep the three of them in. Clint snorted at the genius.

"Guess you don't wait in hospitals very long," he remarked. Tony shook his head. Howard never took much care of him. Jarvis, the real Jarvis, actually knew medical care and tended to care for Tony on his own. Hell, this was more than likely Tony's first actual trip to a hospital since the night he was born... Well, no... Outside out visiting other people... So, hospital emergency room. "Waiting rooms can take up to three hours and waiting for the doc can sometimes take all night."

"Jeez, sucks to be normal," Tony groaned. Clint nodded. He agreed. Pepper smiled and shook her head at the two as she pulled out her phone to get a head's up on any press release about Tony in a hospital.

"Why I tended to deal with issues myself. Tended to work faster."

"Are you kidding me? You could be dying!" Tony hypothesized. Clint laughed before dropping into a loud, wet cough.

"It's probably just a cold," the boy grunted.

"Colds don't normally include excess vomiting," Pepper pointed out. Clint sighed and leaned back on the bed. At this point, all he wanted was to go back to the tower, lay on the couch with a bowl of chicken noodle soup and watch T.V. Tony and Pepper traded looks before Tony also grabbed his phone. He wasn't going to wait in another hospital emergency room again. Hey, he already had Bruce as a main doc, why not just get the remaining others? Pepper sighed and shook her head. The boy was relaxing back into the bed as the trio waited and waited. Clint barely even noticed as he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

**And that chapter is done. 4,069 words total.**

**For all those wondering. Baby Clint is doing okay. His daycare has what is considered the 'stomach bug' going around and around and around with teachers and kids... So we are beginning to believe that has been most of what his diarrhea and vomiting has mostly been. He has been lucky enough to never catch a fever but since he never really complains of stomach pains or aches, we don't know it isn't really feeling ill until something (nine times out of ten him) is covered in vomit or diarrhea. Since all this has been going on, all together, he has lost close to five pounds so he is now mostly always tired and weak so he has turned into the cutest little couch potato.**

**Anyways, onto responses.**

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**Reviews Responses:**

_ELOSHAZZY _\- Yeah, I was projecting my experiences. Clint is thankfully doing better today but at the time that most of this story was written, he was constantly sick. And I'm glad that you like how things currently are. Just wait until the story progresses. I hope you continue to enjoy it, I really love it.

_toshirolovehim_ \- I'm glad you think this story is great and here is the next chapter, lol.

_Niom Lambiose _\- I update every week, on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday (depending on how my son, husband or I feel and how busy our weekend is). If I skip I week I promise to explain why either the week before or as soon as I can. I try not too. And I can't wait until you guys get to the chapters with the other Avengers either. I just want to squeal when you get to the chapters I am currently typing.

_sammygirl1963_ \- Yeah, poor Clint. I don't know why but if you end up being my favorite character, it ends up being worse for you... I tend to torture you more... Hmm... Something is really wrong with me. hee hee. Works out for you readers though. lol. More coming next week.

_ThePenguinApocalypse_ \- Glad you love it and I have been. Everyone can check out my profile page and see how many chapters ahead I am so that they know how many more updates I can do. If you notice I am falling behind, post a review or two to help give me a kick in the butt. Or make sure I'm alive. lol, just kidding.


	4. Chapter 4

Clint woke up a few hours later. Unsure of exactly how long it was but knowing it was a while, Clint realized rather quickly that he must have drifted off into a really deep sleep cause he wasn't at the hospital anymore. Right now, he was actually in the common room at Stark Tower. For a moment, the archer wondered if maybe he had dreamed the whole thing but as he coughed and looked down to see he barely covered two cushions on the plush couch, he knew. He was still six years old. Behind him, someone cleared their throat. Clint lifted his head up to see who it was. Pepper stood there smiling softly at him. He smiled back in a way that showed if it was anyone other than her, it more than likely wouldn't have been as meaningful.

"Hey," she softly said as she walked around the couch to sit by his feet. In his waking, Clint had kicked off a fluffy blanket that she quickly replaced on his small frame. He tried to sit up further but a cough forced him back down and Pepper placed a hand on his leg to calm him. Clint twitched at the touch, still unused to the contact of such care from someone when he was ill. Pepper didn't seem to even notice. "You fell asleep and missed most of the action."

"What happened?" Clint coughed, trying to ignore Pepper's sudden maternal instincts kicking in. He was already uncomfortable with the constant cough and his body settling after shrinking down so quickly. Hell, he was still trying to wrap his mind around the sudden needs of his body at this young age. His mind was slowly telling him to settle into Pepper's chest and demand a hug from the woman but he couldn't do it. In fact, all he really wanted to do right now was go to his room, curl back up into his blanket bundle and go to sleep, praying that he'd wake and all this would end up being a dream.

"Tony's little stunt at the waiting room was headline news. Reporters flocked to the hospital a few minutes after you feel asleep. To try and get us out, a doctor rushed to see you and claimed that you had a common cold and a stomach bug. But he said if any more symptoms come up, we should return and have Tony check in rather than me," Pepper explained. Clint smiled lightly at the last bit. It was kind of true. If Pepper hadn't signed them in, Tony would have gotten them a room almost right away. "Tony thinks the stomach bug might actually be a reaction to whatever happened to you. He's trying to contact Bruce right now but neither he nor Steve is answering their phones."

"Does Tony know what turned me into a kid?" Clint muttered, drawing up the blanket so it rubbed up against his neck. He was upset slightly when he realized that the blanket still completely covered him. Before, he had been tall enough that when he did this, it normally hug up over his ankles and he'd have to draw up legs. Now he had no reason to pull his legs away from the CEO. Pepper shook her head as she began rubbing the leg nearest hers when it twitched. Clint scoffed and looked away before coughing a few times. Pepper stood up and turned to head toward the kitchen. Clint watched her before figuring she was going to get him some food. "At least my mind didn't regress as well. I was such a little shit, especially when sick."

"I'm gonna make some soup," Pepper commented while trying not to laugh. Much of Clint's history was filled with the archer telling the Avengers that 'he was a little shit'. At this point they weren't really sure they really believed him. But considering who they were talking too and considering his past, for all they knew, he could have actually been.

Clint nodded at her words before glancing down at the TV remote which was conveniently placed within arm's reach. Slowly, he leaned over and grabbed it. Truthfully the device was worthless considering JARVIS could control the TV. But apparently Natasha or Bruce complained that hitting the channel button was therapeutic or something. So now, just to tick off Tony, everyone tended to use the remote. It was fun, especially when they knew the genius was watching them. But right now, Clint wanted to use it just so he had something to do.

With a deep sigh, Clint powered up the T.V. and began scrolling through channels. It was early morning on a Friday, so mostly every channel was either old repeated shows, soap operas, old movies or really kiddy cartoons. A few more channels in, some sort of dark music made Clint pause. He watched as a caped figure bounced around the screen in the opening music title, beating up bad guys and fleeing the scene before the cops got there. The title of _Batman_ showed on the screen a few seconds before Pepper returned. During the commercial, she delivered the soup, helped Clint get comfortable and sat down herself to watch over the spy turned boy. It wasn't long before the show returned. Like Clint, Pepper was quickly drawn to the show.

"What is this?" Pepper muttered more to herself than to Clint. The boy smirked, having realizing earlier that this show seemed rather familiar to someone he knew. He swallowed a spoonful of the soup before looking at her. For a brief moment, he wondered what she'd think of it. But then he realized he was sick and currently the form of a six year old boy, maybe he could use this to get away with some things that he never used to be able to do. Like watch things on TV that others might not enjoy.

"Kids' cartoon," Clint replied as if it made sense. Pepper turned and gave him a look that told the archer that she already figured that out. He chuckled and coughed a little, shifting the soup so as to not spill on himself. Pepper grabbed the bowl from him to make sure none of it spilled in case it continued but the archer wouldn't release his grip. Clint shook his head as he started speaking which made her release her grip and allowed him to return the bowl to his lap. "It's called Batman or something."

"Seems stupid," Pepper mumbled, turning back to watch some more. She was beginning to feel like the overall story line was familiar for some reason. Clint raised an eyebrow at her as he waited for her to continue. A minute passed, were he began eating some more before he hummed at the show. Batman had just taken down some super villain and was telling the police chief that he had some important business to attend to. "Seems like it's making fun of Tony."

"Oh?" Clint called as he turned to watch. Pepper nodded as Bruce Wayne arrived at a huge party and started to make a scene with the host. Clint smirked, beginning to see where this conversation was going. He sure as hell wasn't going to stop Pepper from trapping herself. For a moment, Clint wondered if JARVIS was recording this. But he figured that maybe the AI was smart enough to see the same thing he did.

"A billionaire making a suit and traipsing around, acting like a super hero. I mean, can't someone else do this? What gives him the right to call himself a hero and defend this world? Does it even need him?" Pepper bitched, letting out all her frustration of when she found out about Tony. Clint almost laughed here but held back cause somehow he could just tell she wasn't done. She looked to him and if he wasn't trained as a spy, Clint wouldn't have been able to blank his face out as he stared at her wondering what she was going to say. "It's so stupid! Who would even believe this is real?"

"So, someone who isn't super, acting like a super hero is stupid?" Clint tried to clarify. For a moment, he bristled as he wondered if she really believed that. He wasn't super. Actually, only he and Tony weren't super on the team. So, did Pepper really think that he was stupid too? Pepper nodded, thinking only about Tony and Bruce Wayne. Clint not being super didn't even cross her mind. "By that reasoning, Tony being Iron Man is stupid."

"Yes," Pepper agreed, sharply turning back to watch the show. Clint waited a beat to allow Pepper to realize what she said. Suddenly she turned beat red and turned back to him. "Wait! No!"

Clint cracked up laughing, quickly forgetting that she might mean him as well. Pepper smiled at the boy as she shook her head and wondered how she got trapped like that. She wasn't used to things like this. Even though she knew that Clint was notorious for tricking people, she couldn't see how he did it. Clint's laughing began to ebb when it intermingled with coughing. It took a bit before Pepper realized that she hadn't given him anything for it.

"Oh my god! Your medicine!" Pepper cried before standing to go get it. Clint put down his bowl as he coughed and waved at her to get her attention. It worked. She paused and watched him before realizing that he was having trouble breathing. Quickly, she rushed behind him and sat him up before lightly pounding on his back. As the coughing ebbed, he leaned back.

"Thanks," he croaked as he relaxed back. Pepper nodded before turning to go find the meds that Tony and she had bought on their way back from the hospital. She found it quickly and returned to Clint to see him already asleep on the couch again. Smiling softly, she moved over to him, shifted the blanket, grabbed his soup and used the remote to turn down the T.V. Looking back at him, she then prepared the medicine and left it sitting next to the remote on the coffee table in front of him. She could only hope that Clint was smart enough to take the meds when he woke.

* * *

Pepper arrived down at Tony's lab only a few minutes after Clint had passed out. Tony was sitting at his holo desk with numerous screens loaded. One showed a feed of the common room where Clint was sleeping, another was replaying Pepper's conversation with Clint, a third showed Tony and Clint training from the day before, and the rest showed some type of science or mechanical thing that Pepper couldn't understand. She smiled at the form of Clint still asleep on the couch. It was pleasing to know that Tony was as worried as she was.

"How's our little Merida?" Tony called without looking over in her direction. Pepper rolled her eyes at the name that he was using this week. He tried to change it up as much as possible but when not everyone was as up to pop culture as he was, many times it just went over everyone's heads. But then again, a lot of times that ended up being half of Tony's fun cause then he got to spend 'movie night' helping everyone catching up on that particular pop culture reference.

"He's fine. But I think you already knew that," Pepper commented as she arrived at his side and pointed to the feed of Clint. Tony shrugged and quickly closed that screen down. Pepper noted that it actually didn't disappear, just vanished into a tiny corner of the screen. Meaning that even though Tony wasn't watching, JARVIS was keeping an active interest in Clint's condition. "Have you gotten in contact with Steve or Bruce?"

"No. I don't know what's going on. I can understand Capsicle not answering but Bruce always answers. Ever since that day when I blew up half the lab," Tony mentioned. Pepper nodded, remembering that day very well. Figuring she'd just get more worried about Tony if she focused on his history, Pepper decided to move on. She glanced at the other monitors, trying to get a basic clue as to what the genius was trying to do. Sadly, she wasn't on the same wavelength as Tony and couldn't catch even a glimpse.

"Any clue as to why Clint is a kid?" Tony tensed for a moment but quickly relaxed again. It was a nervous twitch that he had only developed since Pepper began accusing him of something and actually realizing when he lied about it. So now as Pepper watched the genius, she knew that Tony had an answer but just didn't want to tell her. Frowning, Pepper reached forward and smacked the back of his head before he could come up with a lie for her current question. "Anthony Edward Stark, what did you do!?"

"Ow! What the hell! Why me?" Tony cried, spinning around to face Pepper as he grabbed his head. Right away he could see that he wasn't going to convince her otherwise. Rolling his eyes, he spun back to his computer so as to not let her know how much it bothered him that it was his fault. "Fine! I may..." Tony paused as he spun to stop Pepper from smacking him again. Pepper held her hand up and waited as Tony rushed through the rest of his speech. "MAY! HaveinjectedClintwithBruce'snewestserumtogetridofHulkratherthanasleepingagentIwasmakingforNatasha."

"Tony!" Pepper exasperatingly whined as she wondered how Tony could have messed up that badly. Long ago she learned how to translate Tony's fast talk and so there was no hesitation. The genius winced at her voice. Pepper knew Tony wasn't the best at keeping track of his experiments but when it came to safety of others, Tony was one of the best. Hell, he normally had so many safety precautions around his labs that Pepper at one point had to spend an entire day trying to get down to Tony's lab when Butterfingers accidently spilt a small vial of what ended up being water.

Tony groaned and turned back to his computer. He already felt like crap and now she seemed to be making it worse. How he wished he could turn back time. Anything to fix this. Go back, tell the others not to leave. Tell Clint that training sucks. Stop JARVIS from going into maintenance mode. Just fix one thing in the past and it would stop Clint from turning into a six year old. Spinning back to face her, Tony sighed.

"Look, I'm sorry! We were training, I knocked over mine and Bruce's desk and... Well, it kind-of went downhill from there," Tony moaned. Pepper glanced behind him and spotted a video showing exactly what the genius described. Tony had knocked over the desks, grabbed a vial and stuffed it in the Widow Bite before facing Clint. "That's why I've been trying to call Bruce. I can't make sense of any of it. And all of Bruce's tests were done on himself and not..."

"So, you have no idea what could happen?" Pepper clarified slowly. Tony nodded. Already he had debated with JARVIS to try and test one of the other samples on Clint's blood or even his blood. But the AI pointed out that any effect done on the blood would already happen to Clint and so it was pointless.

"He could stay as 6 years old, or he could turn even younger. We might get lucky and this won't last or... He may never age again. I... I just don't know," Tony whined, wishing he had a better answer. It bothered him that there was nothing he could do. Pepper sighed before pulling her boyfriend into a hug as she began to think about how Clint would take the news. Who knew what would happen? She stiffened when Tony suddenly sniffed into her shirt. "I'm... I'm scared that I may have killed him."

"Oh, Tony," Pepper soothed as she began rubbing his back. At this point she didn't know what to tell him. In fact, she wasn't sure there was anything that she could do to calm him. Thankfully she didn't have to worry about it for too long. As Tony began to shift deeper into her hug, JARVIS spoke up.

"Sir, I am reading an elevated heart rate come from Agent Barton," JARVIS announced into the lab. Tony quickly pulled out of Pepper's embrace and loaded up the video feed of the common room. Clint was tossing and turning on the couch. The blanket was bundled on the floor, indicating he had kicked it off. A soft cry escaped the boy's lips as he tried to curl into a ball. Pepper gasped in shock, not used to seeing the archer in such a vulnerable way. Tony froze, unsure what to do. He had never been placed in such a situation before. "I believe he is having a nightmare."

"Oh!" Pepper called before spinning around to run to the elevator. Clint let out a loud sob that had Tony right on her heels. They arrived at the elevator in time for JARVIS to open it. A video monitor showed up above the buttons for each floor. It showed that Clint was beginning to struggle worse. As they watched, the elevator drew closer and just as the doors opened, Clint gave out a loud, blood curdling scream. Pepper was quick to the boy's side as Clint jerked forward in horror and she pulled him into a tight hug. Clint, still in the mentality of a trained assassin and frightened from his dream, began to try and fight her off. "Shh, shh... It's okay, it's okay."

A moment passed for Clint to register the soothing words and voice. As he did, his struggles lessened until he finally stopped and sagged into Pepper's arms. She didn't let go even though he had stopped. Nor did she stop speaking. Instead, she began rubbing his back and rocking him as she continued her soothing mantra. For some reason, that made the archer crack and suddenly he burst into tears. Stunned, Pepper looked up at Tony for help. But the genius looked just as shaken about Clint crying as Pepper was. It had only been a few months prior that everyone had learned about Clint's past. He still wasn't even all that open with them after.

Minutes passed in which the three awkwardly just allowed the archer to cry. But it was slowly beginning to sound like Clint was going to stop. Pepper didn't once pause in her soothing method. She just waited. Once he finally did stop, he gently pushed her away. She backed off but didn't completely remove her hands from his body. He seemed gladdened for her continued support. As he tried to re-center his mind, Clint leaned back on the couch. The stretching of his lungs after such a dream made him quickly burst into a coughing fit that had Pepper back to grabbing him and rubbing his back. After a minute it died down.

"You okay?" Pepper softly asked, more about the coughing then his nightmare. Clint nodded, figuring she wanted to know about his nightmare. Tony shifted his weight, feeling rather strange as he wondered what to do. His curiosity made him want to ask Clint about his nightmare but his past history with friends, made Tony just want to slip away into his lab and never come out again. Pepper tilted her head to one side as Clint looked away. Both men weren't used to this sort of idea of someone caring about them. It was something that Pepper had gotten used to with Tony. So, she rubbed Clint's knee to get his attention. When he looked back at her, she gave him a soft and gentle smile. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No," Clint said, almost sounding like a pleading sob that broke before Pepper could even finish asking. Pepper nodded, intending on dropping the subject and allowing Clint to bring it up at a later date. Remembering Tony and how he was, she glanced up at the genius and narrowed her eyes at him. Pretty much daring the billionaire to be an ass and press Clint. Tony shook his head, for once actually knowing the proper thing to do. After hearing so much about Clint's past before, there was no way he wanted to know what could scare the archer so much. Too bad that Clint suddenly changed his mind. "It... It was the night my... Dad, killed Mom."

"You don't have to tell us if you don't want to," Pepper soothed when Clint hesitated to say more. Tony frowned, wondering if it would look too cowardly to turn and run to his lab rather than listen to the story. Clint shook his head 'no.' He had kept this whole thing secret for long enough. Now, he needed to share. Especially since he knew that if he looked in the mirror, his 6 year old body would have the fresh looking scars from that night.

"We had gone out... My... Dad had gotten some extra cash from a friend and decided we should go out to eat as a family. He drank all night. Almost got us kicked out of the restaurant. Mom got into a fight with him in the parking lot. All she had done was ask to drive home. He... He beat her for a full two minutes before someone came out. We left without anyone talking to him. The whole way home, he kept screaming at us that it was our fault. If Barney and I had been good boys, we would still be there. We may even had been able to get dessert," Clint began. He took a long pause as he tried to calm himself. With a deep sigh, he continued. "I... I noticed that he was speeding and mentioned it to Barney. Barney told... He told me to buckle up. Normally... We didn't... But the way that my dad drove, it hurt too much to wear one.

"Barney was able to buckle. I tried to but mine was broken or something... Either way, I couldn't. Mom suddenly screamed and I looked up to see a tree," Clint again paused. Pepper and Tony were silent. Neither had any idea if this was a dream or what Clint actually remembered. Pepper hoped it was a dream. An exaggeration of the truth. Tony... Well, Tony just wanted to run and hide. "I... I woke up a good ten to fifteen feet away from the car. As the only one not buckled in, I was the only one tossed. Slowly, I headed back. Mom... Her head was split in a piece of the windshield. She had broken it before I had gone through but my body had pushed her down onto a shard. Her seat had broken off the floor... Dad... My dad was still alive when I got back... The wheel was crushing his chest and a branch from the tree was lodged in his throat. He... I watched as he slowly suffocated to death."

"Oh god," Tony cried before spinning away from Clint. His hand reached out and clasped the back of the couch to steady him as the billionaire gagged. The imagery that Clint provided was too strong. Tony could almost see the whole ordeal right now. Pepper refused to let it faze her but her slowly paling face showed that she was being affected as well. Clint didn't even notice. He just continued on as if they weren't there.

"In reality... Barney had slipped out of his seat belt. How, no one really knows. But after watching Dad die, I... I looked for Barney. He... He had fallen in between the back seat and the front seat. He... God, he had been squished between the seats. I couldn't do anything to help him... The wor... The worst part is... Barney spent the whole time, soothing me. Telling me it was okay. That we'd be fine," Clint recalled. Neither Tony nor Pepper said a thing. They just waited. "In... In my dream... Barney died and my dad lived. He... He got out of the car. Chased me... Then beat me to death while saying it was my fault. That Mom and Barney would still be alive and happy if I had never been born. That it was because of me, he lost his job. Because of me that he turned abusive."

"Oh, Clint!" Pepper cried before pulling the archer into a hug. Clint stiffened at the contact, having been lost in his dream only minutes before. Realizing what was happening and where he currently was, Clint relaxed into her arms. Pepper almost sobbed for Clint as she began to sooth him once again. "It wasn't your fault. Don't ever believe that."

Clint just nodded into Pepper's body. He had nothing else to say. No matter how much he wanted to believe her, he just couldn't. Barney used to tell him the same thing. It had only been days after Clint was born when their father had lost his job. In his distress, the old man turned to drinking and ended up being violent. Every day that he came home after not finding a job, he'd drink and then beat his family. So Clint couldn't believe that it wasn't his fault.

Feeling emotionally drained, Clint drifted deeper into Pepper's embrace. Realizing that he was getting sleepy again, Pepper began humming a soft tune. Something that her mother used to hum to her. Clint moaned in contentment at the song and began to drift off. Not much later, Pepper felt his breathing shift into sleep and so she shifted him back down onto laying on the couch. She continued to hum the tune which was good for as soon as he was laid down he began coughing yet again. Thankfully he stayed asleep. Once he was down, Tony went to speak but Pepper shook her head. Slowly, she reached for the blanket and gently draped it along the boy's body. Certain he was fine, Pepper stood and waved Tony into the kitchen nearby.

"How is he not mentally fucked up?" Tony muttered once they entered the kitchen. Pepper shook her head, unsure how to respond as she had wondered the same thing herself. Both knew that each Avenger had dealt with their fair share of tragedy. But it seemed almost like Clint's life went to an extreme. The fact that he turned out the way he did was amazing. Not wanting to dwell on it any more, Pepper turned to Tony.

"What are we going to do?" she softly asked. Tony paused, wondering what she meant before realizing she was talking about Clint. Considering he had no idea how Bruce's serum worked and what could happen to Clint, Tony had to wait for the doc to call back. Until then, he had no idea what to do. Anything could happen. Not sure what to say, Tony just shrugged, almost hoping that Pepper had an answer. "Do you... Do you think this will last?"

"Honestly Pep? I have no clue. Until I get a hold of Bruce, I don't really have anything. All his tests and notes are reactions to his blood and Hulk. I'm not even sure he'll have an answer," Tony admitted. Pepper shuddered. Her mind filtered through possibilities. Tony's mind did the same. He didn't want to admit that he was terrified of what would happen to Clint. "I wish... I had an answer..."

"He's going to need clothes," Pepper suddenly declared. Tony frowned, unsure how she suddenly came up with this idea. She was looking at Clint at the time that she spoke but now she was looking at the genius with expectant eyes. It took Tony another minute or two to understand what she meant. Then...

"No. No! Ah Hell NO!"

* * *

**And that is that for this week. 4,682 words total for this one here. Awesome job if I can say so. ^_^ hee hee.**

**Baby Clint is doing great. He is more comfortable at daycare now to the point that he is using more sign language and more words there and actually going up to the teachers and other kids. Things he wasn't doing before. He hasn't been sick in close to two weeks now. Tomorrow I get to give him milk for the first time in about a week and a half, we get to see how that settles well on him. So things are smoothing out over here.**

**Sadly, as things are smoothing out at home, things elsewhere are not. I am running out of times to work on my writing and so I am running behind. I haven't finished a chapter since the beginning of this month and am starting to panic. I don't want you all to catch up to me before I finish writing this story. But I'll keep working as much as I can and I'll keep updating weekly for up to at (currently) 20 more weeks. So, onto responses!**

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**Followers: **Slythgurl12, lizarddbreath, alphasbane33, ChibiCreep, roswell26, the-ever-fading-forest

**Reviews Responses:**

_Niom Lambiose _\- Yup. lol. Basically all of my favorite stories end up having Clint being tortured or hurt or something... Somehow that seems to be the only way to keep him the main character of the stories. I'm glad you love how the story is going. And I can't wait to read how you like this week's update. ^_^

_sammygirl1963_ \- I love the way Tony reacted too. Actually, this did happen to myself once with my son. We were waiting in the waiting room for close to an hour and a half with baby Clint getting rather upset as he was beginning to spike a fever (close to a hundred degrees at the time) and a man walked in with a bloody nose and was taken in right away. I went in and pitched a fit, got brought back right away only to have to wait in a room in the back for another two hours for a doctor. We arrived at the hospital at about five in the afternoon, left with barely an answer at around midnight. Needless to say, we were pissed off. But, I digress... Yeah, poor Clint really suffers in my stories. ^_^


	5. Chapter 5

"Whipped," Clint announced the next day. Surprisingly, he was already over his sickness. It hadn't been too surprising to Clint, as the archer explained to Tony and Pepper, his body had to get over sicknesses fast as a kid. His father was never one to let him stay down for long. So his body adapted.

Tony stopped walking as he heard the word. Clint snorted as the genius glanced around the unfamiliar area. A crowd of people split around the duo, too distracted with their own shopping to realize who they were passing. It ended up being a good thing for Clint and Tony but a good ways behind the duo, Happy Hogun stood watching them for signs of distress. He had already called mall security to let them know Tony was stopping by but wanted privacy. So, they were on stand-by until Happy gave the warning. Thankfully he hadn't noticed any problems with the duo. And they were so lost in their own world that they didn't even realize that Happy was following them. Usually, that was how Tony was. The genius didn't notice ninety percent of what Happy tended to do for him, but it was more than likely for the best.

"I am not whipped," Tony said before walking again into the nearest kids store, as if using that for the main reason for stopping to glare at the boy. The front end was mostly a display for sale items of mixed gender and so Tony just kind-of picked a side and walked into it. Sadly, it was the girl's side. Clint quickly followed, ignoring the clothes around him. Once beside Tony again, he imitated a whip crack with his hand while making the similar sound. Tony grimaced and glanced back at the boy with a glare. "I am not whipped!"

"Oh, Tony!" Clint began, imitating Pepper's voice in a lousy way. Tony quickly shifted to the boy's section of the store. There was no way he was going to spend a whole day doing this. The faster the genius got this done the better. He half hoped to rid himself of the boy but Clint was still rather quick on his feet and so the archer was right on his heels. "Clint needs clothes! Why don't you bring him out shopping?"

"I am not whipped!" Tony insisted before grabbing a random shirt off the rack and tossing it at a now laughing Clint. Calming down, Clint pulled the shirt off his face and looked at it. The shirt was a light baby blue with a cartoon character of some sort with a cutesy looking face with a saying surrounding it claiming 'I'm Too Cute!' Clint blanched before putting it back. He followed Tony for a few more racks before quickly realizing Tony was grabbing the first shirt he saw, even if it wasn't the correct size. Rolling his eyes, Clint broke off from the genius. Separately the two shopped in the store. Tony grabbed whatever he wanted, especially if he thought it would embarrass Clint while the former grabbed the correct size and the most least childish things he could find.

They met up again a bit later. Clint had maybe a hundred to two hundred dollars worth of shirts, shorts, underwear and socks. Just about all of it totaled to two weeks' worth of clothing. Tony had close to six hundred dollars of just shirts. Grimacing, Clint began digging through the pile. Nearly all of it went back onto the racks. A few of the shirts that Clint decided to keep just because Tony complained about him putting everything back. Checking each size once again, Clint headed over to the checkout counter. Tony followed, still moaning that mostly all of the 'fun' things that he found were placed back on the racks. Clint, having used to being around the genius now, just rolled his eyes and ignored him.

"Hello, did you find everything?" the sales clerk asked as she began ringing out the clothes. Clint nodded yes. Tony smirked.

"Mostly," he said. Stunned at the familiar voice, she looked up.

"Oh my god! You're Tony Stark!" she called, stopping the whole check out. Tony nodded, used to this reaction. Clint shifted, suddenly beginning to see a downside to Pepper sending him out to shop with Tony. It would have been easier if she or even just Happy went out shopping with the boy. But Tony... Not her brightest plan.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll sign an autograph later," Tony agreed without her even asking. She giggled before looking back at Clint. Her eyes widened as she just naturally assumed that Clint was Tony's kid. Clint shifted uncomfortably as he watched the woman look back and forth between the two. He could tell she was looking for similarities.

"Can you please just check us out?" Clint begged softly. The woman gasped, assuming that he wanted privacy with his 'father'. Nodding, she began quickly scanning each item faster than before. Clint rolled his eyes and turned to walk through the store once again. Behind him, he could hear Tony chatting with the woman as she worked. Rolling his eyes, Clint headed to the front. Once at the front of the store, he noticed Happy was standing there, a phone to his ear. "Happy?"

"Ah! Clint!" Happy cried, pulling the phone from his ear. He looked slightly flustered at being caught but quickly gave the boy a smile. "Did you get enough clothes?"

"Yeah... If Tony ever stops talking to the employee," Clint moaned. Happy nodded. He was used to following Tony to a mall and only visiting one store as his boss kept chatting with employees. Clint relaxed against the barrier along with the other man. They silently waited for a bit. After a minute, Clint glanced at Happy. "Do you always follow Tony?"

"Whenever he goes out, I do. Well, unless he goes out on Avengers' business or he's already in the Iron Man suit," Happy replied, nodding his head down. It was then that Clint noticed a small metal briefcase sitting down on the ground beside the man. Remembering what Natasha had once told him about Tony building a portable suit, he smiled at it. Happy had brought the Iron Man suit. The archer hadn't even thought about such a possibility. But considering Tony and he were technically the only active Avengers in New York at the moment, it would have been better if Tony had the suit with him personally.

"Were you always this prepared before?" Clint asked. Happy nodded with a small laugh.

"I tried to be as much as possible. My mom used to say I was a boy scout before I was in Boy Scouts." Clint turned around to look at the rest of the mall. He mentally wondered how much longer they'd be out here.

"It's his job to be prepared," Tony suddenly finished from behind Clint. The boy turned around to see the billionaire standing there with no bags. Clint frowned at the sight. Tony shrugged. "She's gonna deliver it to the tower. Now, I'm hungry."

Clint rolled his eyes as Tony turned and walked off. Happy smiled. Shrugging, the duo followed after then genius. It wasn't much further before Tony suddenly stopped in front of a store and gapped at the display. Clint was quick to join his side and cringed. Happy just laughed. He had forgotten that since the Manhattan incident, none of the Avengers had really gone shopping. So they wouldn't have known about this.

Inside the store was a large display of Avengers merchandise. Shirts displaying Captain America's shield or Thor's Mjolnir. Green shirts imprinted with muscles to act like Hulk. And shirts of gold and red with a blue circle to act like Iron Man. There were also matching shorts for each and more items like toys, belts, purses, wallets and so much more. Clint leaned forward to even note the detail of each of the items and his cringe turned to a grimace.

"This is totally awesome!" Tony declared. He turned to look at Happy. "Please tell me that Stark Industries did this!"

"Indeed, Miss Potts got permission to be the head of merchandising for the Avengers. It made it easier when you invited everyone to live in the tower. Nearly all products are reviewed by her before being made for the public," Happy announced. Clint groaned and slammed his palm into his hand in embarrassment. "I assumed that you had known."

"I hadn't known that Stark Industries was involved. And I doubt anyone else knows," Clint groaned. Tony excitingly laughed before rushing inside. He had seen Clint's shirt size in the other store and now he intended to use it well. Clint didn't move as he watched Tony grab almost one of everything off the display. The genius even began to grab some of the toys. "Can you kill me?"

"I don't think Miss Potts and Mr. Stark would approve," Happy laughed. Clint moaned as he turned to move away from the store. Inside, Tony exclaimed something about Clint wearing a Black Widow shirt and praying that Natasha wouldn't kill them. Happy once again laughed and moved to follow Clint. "Does this bother you?"

"No... It bothers me that Tony's going to make me suffer through wearing all that," Clint muttered as he leaned up against the railing that prevented people from falling down to the next level. Happy nodded as if he understood what Clint would be going through. "It's good that the public can get these things to show their approval of us."

"Have you seen these before?" Happy wondered. Clint nodded.

"I was on a mission for S.H.I.E.L.D and happened by a store. I think it was a toy store. I saw all of us on display and almost freaked out. But... Then a little boy came out of the store holding a toy Nerf bow. It read Avengers' Hawkeye on it. And he proudly shot a little Nerf bullet at his sister who was holding a Captain America shield. When he loudly proclaimed that he was the best archer in the world, I couldn't help but feel proud," Clint admitted. Happy smiled. He was glad that someone outside of Tony enjoyed the merchandise. Clint snorted. "I... I almost called my handler to let them know but when... When Coulson's name almost slipped out I stopped. Guess I kind-of forgot to mention it after that."

Happy glanced over at Clint. The archer barely ever spoke of Coulson. In fact, Happy wasn't even sure if he had ever really heard Clint say the agent's name. But right now, Clint didn't even seem to be fazed. Actually, the boy looked rather relieved to have spoken about it. Happy wondered if maybe he should pressure Clint into speaking more about it. But before he could, Tony arrived from the store. The genius was basically bouncing on air because he was so excited. Happy had to laugh.

"Oh, I so have to go shopping more!" Tony declared as he exited the store. He had a bag or two in his hands. At Clint's raised eyebrow, the billionaire shrugged. "They didn't want to deliver to me."

Rolling his eyes, Clint moved on. Together the three walked. Tony proudly showing off all of the purchases to Happy as the guard agreed with every smart decision that Tony claimed to have ever made with them. Because they were rather loud about it, Clint began to notice a lot of people turning to look at them. When they realized it was Tony Stark, many tried to take pictures. The rest... Well, Clint could tell that even if the store employee from the clothing store kept silent about him, there would be plenty of other sources that the news people could use. A few more stores down from the toy shop, Tony just stopped walking.

"Mr. Stark?" Happy called, wondering what had caught the genius's eyes. Seeing as they were nowhere near the food court, Happy knew it wasn't that. Clint stopped as well to see what was going on. Tony didn't reply to anyone, instead he just stared. Clint turned to look at the store they were standing in front of. He snorted.

"Build-A-Bear? Seriously?" Clint muttered. Tony slipped inside. Rolling his eyes again, Clint followed, not seeing the harm in this store. He didn't notice Happy's chuckling or shaking of his head as he waved and waited outside. Near the middle of the store, on the right wall, Tony stopped before a display of a couple of bears. Clint took one glance and snickered. Tony smiled before grabbing an unstuffed bear. "Wait, woah! Are you seriously doing this?"

"Why not?" Tony muttered. The genius paused and looked at the long row of possible choices. "You want to try one?"

"Hell no. I may look like a kid but I ain't acting like one," Clint growled as Tony shifting over to the filling station right beside him. The boy glanced over the display of bears and one of the bears caught his eye. His hands itched with the desire to grab it and follow Tony's lead but Clint shook his head and turned to follow Tony. A bored looking employee gave the genius a fake smile before realizing who he was smiling at. The smile fell away and turned into a stunned expression.

"Tony Stark?" the boy asked in a stutter. Tony nodded and handed over the bear. The boy looked at it in surprise before looking at the billionaire. For once it didn't click in the boy's mind that Tony Stark would seriously be standing before him, asking to make a bear. It took an extra minute before the boy snapped to attention. He glanced over at Clint a second later and his eyes widened in realization. Knowing what the boy thought, Clint backed away and shook his head.

"Uh un. Not mine," Clint declared, raising his hands up. There was no way in hell that Clint was going to get blackmailed by Tony later for making a bear at Build-A-Bear. The employee glanced back up at Tony. His mind couldn't focus on a good enough reason for why Tony Stark would want to build a bear. Especially the particular bear that the billionaire was holding. Fearing that this was a test set up by his supervisor, the employee gently took the bear from Tony's outstretched hand. Leaning back, he turned on the stuffing machine before glancing back at Tony.

"Ummm... Are you gonna do all the steps?" the boy asked as a small family picked out their own sets of bears and lined up behind Tony. Tony's eyes widened in surprise as he briefly wondered what steps he might be asked to do before nodding. The steps couldn't be that bad as this place was actually meant for little kids. Wouldn't be good to have little kids do something that would be too bad for adults to do in public. Beginning to feel more confident in himself, the boy grabbed a pen off his lanyard and reached for the tag still strapped to the bear's ear. "Is this for you or for someone else?"

"Me," Tony seriously replied. The boy nodded before writing something on the bottom of the tag. Tony paused for a moment. Then he grimaced and looked over at Clint who snorted. "Well, technically me. But really it's a joke on a friend."

"Well, the bear now belongs to you, if that's okay," the employee said before ripping off the little tag and placing it inside the bear. Tony shrugged not really caring one way or another. Clint stepped back as another family joined the line forming behind the genius. At first the family was distracted with conversation but suddenly one of the parents noticed it was Tony Stark before them and pointed it out. The other parent then pulled out their phone and began recording. Clint smirked. He was so glad that this was getting recorded. But then he wondered, why wasn't he? So, with that, Clint pulled out his own phone and recorded as the employee removed a rather large and redundant red stopper off the stuffing machine before replacing it with the bear. "If you could do me the favor of pressing down on that pedal and we'll bring your bear to life!"

"Okay," Tony laughed, thinking that the boy was slipping into his normal routine. He was rather glad. In truth, he actually hated when people treated him differently just because of who he was. It didn't take long for the bear to become full of stuffing. The force and actions of creating it, shifted the legs into a sitting position and the arms up and pointing out as if asking for a hug. Keeping the bear on the metal stuffer, the employee leaned back and turned off the machine even with Tony still pressing the pedal. With a frown, Tony backed off as the boy pulled the bear off and replaced the red stopper. Checking to make sure the stuffing wouldn't fall out, the boy held the bear up for Tony's inspection.

"Okay, can you take him and give him a tight squeeze. Move him all around, make sure he is stuffed properly. Wouldn't want him too full or too soft," the boy called. Tony gently took the bear and began hugging and squeezing it in all types of ways. A pleased smile came to his face after a minute before he handed the bear back with a nod. Glad that he pleased Tony Stark with the first try, the boy continued, shifting into a more kid friendly attitude. The kids behind Tony began chuckling at the whole thing. "Thank you. Now, we have two types of hearts here. One that beats when you squeeze it and a small free one."

Without a word, Tony grabbed the free heart. It wasn't that he didn't want to pay more money for the bear. He just didn't like the idea of a beating heart in a toy bear. For some reason he felt if a toy had a beating heart, it meant it could up rise against the human race. On a side note, this is why Pepper refused to let Tony watch any of the Toy Story movies. The boy nodded, unfazed by Tony's decision. But when Tony went to hand the heart over, the employee shook his head. Clint smirked, this was the bit he was waiting for.

"Stuffing is only the first step in bringing your bear to life. Now we have to start his heart. So, rub it in your hands to make sure he is always warm," the employee ordered. Clint snickered along with a few of the parents in the line. Tony rolled his eyes at Clint's humor before doing as he was told. "Now rub it on your head so he is as smart as you."

"Hey Legolas, the bear is going to be smarter than you!" Tony joked as he rubbed the heart against his temple. The line behind him began chuckling as the employee snorted. Clint just shook his head.

"Yeah well, right now you don't seem all that smart," Clint laughed. Tony rolled his eyes again before waiting for a new order.

"Now rub your ears so he will be able to listen to all your worries," the boy added. Tony nodded and did such. Everyone again chuckled. "Now rub your nose so he'll know your scent.

"Seriously?" Clint remarked. The employee shrugged. It was in his training to do each and every step. Sometimes the steps differed a little but mostly it was just the explanation as to why. Tony did the step without question.

"Rub your back so he'll always have your back in bad situations and good," the employee continued, unfazed by Clint's comments. Clint snorted as Tony did the step. "Jump up and down so you can start his heart beats."

"Wow, lot of stuff just to make a bear," Tony muttered before doing such. By now the line of people had turned into a small crowd around the group. Many had pulled their phones out and were recording. The rest just enjoyed watching Tony Stark humiliate himself to make a bear. Too bad they didn't realize that Tony wasn't humiliated.

"Now do a super silly dance so he can be a party animal and then give it a kiss so he knows love," the boy finished. With a roll of his eyes at Clint's bark of laughter, Tony did a silly dance that really looked like he was just flailing his limbs. Clint and the crowd cracked up in laughter at Tony's dance. Once done, Tony kissed the heart and quickly handed it over to the employee who was now smirking.

"I better hear all those same steps for these kids," Tony lightly threatened as he pointed to the line. The boy looked surprised before nodded as he accepted the heart and pushed it into the bear. Quickly sewing the bear up, the boy then puffed the fur around the stitch and handed it to Tony. The billionaire nodded and moved off. Clint snorted as he powered down his phone but as he went to follow, Tony spun around and pointed two fingers at his eyes and then pointed back to the boy who was nervously working on a new bear.

"Dude, come on, let's get this over with," Clint groaned as Tony moved to what looked to be a small tub filled with water and bubbles. Just to make Clint suffer more, Tony slowly brushed every inch of the bear to make sure the fur was fluffed just right. Rolling his eyes, Clint spun around and began to leave the store. Feeling like Tony didn't notice, Clint glanced back in time to see that Tony had moved onto the outfit and was skimming through a particular design as if looking for the best one before picking it and moving on. Shaking his head, Clint rejoined Happy outside the store.

"Is he almost done?" Happy questioned, feeling antsy about the crowd that had begun to gather after Tony decided to make a bear. Clint glanced back again. It was difficult to spot Tony for a moment before he notice the genius sitting at a rather outdated looking computer. The genius was typing away.

"I think so," Clint replied, more as a pray then a definite answer. Happy nodded and relaxed against the railing. Clint turned around to look down at the lower floor of the mall. "Does he always do stuff like this?"

"Mr. Stark didn't have much of a real childhood. So... A lot of what he does now is to make up for it," Happy admitted. Clint nodded, understanding that feeling more than ever. Not having that great of a childhood himself, Clint tended to act more childish than normal people. He wouldn't go to the same extreme as Tony but then again. If Clint had been a billionaire, he might have. Tony took that moment to join them, holding the bear in his hands.

"Meet Stevie!" Tony demanded of the duo as he thrust the bear into their faces. Happy glanced at it before cracking up laughing. Clint smiled, glad that Happy enjoyed the same joke as Tony. Tony was grinning as big a Cheshire cat.

"Did you seriously just build a Captain America bear and dress it up as Iron Man?" Happy snorted in amusement. Tony's grin got even bigger. Indeed, the bear was mostly a blue furred bear with the Captain America shield emblem designed all over it and the poor bear was dressed in an outfit that was designed to look like the Mock 42.

"Yup!" Clint shook his head, done with this situation, before sighing deeply and walking off. For a brief moment Clint looked back into the store and noticed another bear next to the display of the Captain America bear. It was a green bear label Hulk. As tempting as it was, Clint feared Bruce's response much more than the enjoyment of making it.

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**All done with this one. 4027 words, sorry for it being a bit shorter... Build-A-Bear chapter ^_^ I love it! I was soooooo waiting for this chapter for... For since I first started writing this story! I couldn't wait. God, I can't wait to see what you all think of it! ^_^**

**For those following my Clint, he is doing wonderful. We have found out now he can't have any regular milk, or soy milk or lactaid or Coke's new Fairlife milk. We would try Almond milk or Coconut milk if his daycare wasn't a nut free environment. So, to make sure he get enough calcium in his diet, we have to increase the amount of cheese and yogurt he gets per day. Joy, considering he doesn't really like yogurt. lol. Oh well. Better than diarrhea and vomiting. But he's speaking a bit more, not really using more words but using the words that he did know more. He's signing more and we're understanding more of his quirks as different signs that he's trying to use to tell us what he wants. So, things are getting a lot better.**

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**Reviews Responses:**

_Niom Lambiose _\- Tony saved his kids clothes? Hmm... Interesting idea... But no, I actually had based this whole story on the ideas around chapter ideas from my son and based on Tony and Clint going to a Build-A-Bear. I actually do currently own a Stevie bear at home right now. And Build-A-Bear has told me that they plan on releasing an Iron Man bear so once they do that, I am planning a future 'revenge' chapter with a 'Tony-pony' bear. And yes, I will also own him as well. ^_^

_sammygirl1963_ \- I'm so glad you like my Pepper. I've read a lot of stories were Pepper just tends to be just there was well. And various others were she is a main character of sorts. I wasn't sure how well I'd be able to pull her off and I was almost afraid that I'd make her too... Motherly. But that almost seems like how she is in the movies. She just seems to go with the flow.


	6. Chapter 6

The return to the tower started uneventful. Though Clint was tempted to kill Tony by the middle of it. The billionaire kept pushing the new bear into Clint's face while claiming they should hug and kiss. For some reason, Tony had it in his mind that Stevie and Clint had gotten into a fight and Clint needed to get over it and soothe Stevie, who was the one who was most hurt by the fight. When Clint declined, Tony would drop the subject long enough to let Stevie look out the window. By the fifth time having the bear shoved in his face, Clint was ready to tear the offending object apart. Tony had no clue and was about to do it a sixth time. Thankfully neither had to worry cause as Tony was about to do it, his phone rang, distracting him from the whole situation.

"Oh! Maybe Brucie is finally getting back to me!" Tony declared excitedly as he dropped Stevie into the seat between the archer and himself before grabbing for his phone. Clint gave the genius a fake pleased smile. His gaze dropped to the bear as he mentally debated tossing it across the car before shaking his head and looking out the window without touching the stuffed creature. Tony answered his phone and placed it on speaker before dropping it on the small table across the floor in front of him. Clint rolled his eyes, not knowing that Tony had been trying to get a hold of Bruce to speak about Clint's condition. "Hey, Brucie-bear!"

"Tony, it's Steve," came the breathy and slightly panicked reply. Clint straightened in his seat, surprised by the sound of Steve's voice. Something was wrong. Clint knew it deep in his gut. Instinct told him to pay attention to everything that Steve said and everything that Clint heard. The boy's ears tuned into the phone, listening for every labored breath. Hearing the sounds of the convention in the background. A group of girls passed by Steve and squealed in delight as soon as they thought they were out of his line of attention. Someone bumped into the solider and murmured some sort of apology that Steve was too distracted too return. Turning back around, Clint faced the phone, the boy had no clue how he could do this. He wasn't there. There was no way he could know this. Tony picked it up so he could listen in better and gave the boy a look when Clint gave a sudden exhale of breath in shock.

"Where's Bruce?" Tony asked, feeling like it should have been his science buddy to call rather than the super solider. The genius focused on the archer beside him. He could tell that Clint was tense and that something was off. But Clint was hiding what was wrong and right now Tony could only focus on so much and the conversation with Steve, Clint being six, the serum that Bruce created, and what would happen if the Avengers were called was basically what his thoughts was limited too right now. A long sigh came through the phone. Clint shifted in his seat. This was so not good. The archer could already tell what was going to be said next. Steve was alone and walking quickly through the convention. He had bumped into numerous amounts of people and hadn't said anything about it, something that wasn't normal for the Captain.

"I... I can't find him," Steve admitted. Silence followed that for a few seconds. Tony was shocked. Bruce was missing. Clint was a six year old kid. And Bruce was the only one who knew how to fix it. How else could this get any worse? Clint focused sharply on the phone. He could tell that the solider had waited a while to inform them of such an event. Something that was detrimental in this type of situation but... The super solider had tried to find Bruce and had failed was pretty bad. It meant that Bruce had either left the event or had been taken. "A crowd split us up! I watched him for most of it but then I bumped into someone. When I looked again, Bruce was gone! I've tried calling him but no one answers and I've looked everywhere!"

"JARVIS, trace Bruce's phone and show the Captain where it is," Tony demanded of his phone. Knowing that JARVIS was connected to each of their phones, Steve and Clint didn't comment. Within seconds a beep came through the line. The sounds of Steve's breathing vanished and filled with the distant sounds of many voices.

"He isn't that far," Steve answered, softer than before. Clint frowned, already knowing where this was going. Steve wasn't stupid. He didn't miss an area to look. Tony smirked, glad that JARVIS proved helpful yet again. The sounds of Steve slipping through a crowd, echoed through the car. "Thanks!"

"No, hang on! I need to speak to Bruce," Tony called before Steve could hang up. There was a soft hum of confirmation before a beat of silence only disturbed by the crowd around the solider. Tony assumed that Steve may have hung up and began messing with his phone to make sure that wasn't true. Clint raised an eyebrow at Tony's insistence of speaking to Bruce as the six year old had no idea that Tony knew what had caused him to de-age. There was a snort on the other end of the line suddenly. "Steve?"

"Tony... It's gonna be real hard for you to talk to Bruce," Steve said, sounding louder than before. Clint assumed the phone had been moved back. Tony frowned before fearing that Steve had found Bruce's dead body or something. "Bruce isn't with his phone."

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Left to his own devices upon reaching the tower, Clint found himself in his room. Surprisingly, the deliveries from the mall actually beat them back to the tower. After visiting Build-A-Bear, the group had continued to a food court where Tony promptly decided he claimed that he didn't like any of the choices. So they left and then the billionaire had found a few more stores to visit. Two hours later and nearly a thousand dollars later, Clint lied and said he was getting tired and wanted to head back. Thankfully, Tony had gotten his full of the 'press' of hanging out with cashiers and quickly agreed. Clint ended up assuming that the employees of each store must have left almost as soon as Tony walked out of their stores.

Now he found himself slowly going through the clothes. For all the clothes he picked, he removed the tags, neatly folded them and placed them in the upper drawers of the nice dresser that Tony had provided in his room. All the clothes that Tony ended up picking were hung in the closet with the tags still in tack. Clint wondered if he could return them after he was brought back to his normal age but figured Tony more than likely wouldn't let him.

As he continued to sort all the clothes, he was slightly stunned to realize that he now had more clothing for his six year old frame than for his normal adult frame. He had never really been one to want too many clothes. Normally, he only owned what could get him through a week or two. But since moving into the tower, Clint had become almost... Complacent and had splurged a little. But even Clint's splurging had nothing on this one trip with Tony. And the billionaire had mentioned possibly going out again!

Glancing around the room quickly, Clint began to realize how much Tony had actually done for him and the other Avengers. After Manhattan, Tony redesigned the entire top of the tower as an Avengers home base. The top floor held Clint's room and Natasha's room. Actually, Clint should restate that as the top floor held Clint's two bedroom apartment and Natasha's two bedroom apartment. The floor below theirs was Pepper's and Tony's floor. And below that was Steve's floor which was a three bedroom apartment, that was part time shared with Thor until the god stated otherwise, and a gym built specifically to hold not only the super solider but also Thor and Hulk. Everyone tended to use this gym so it was slightly split off from Steve's actual living area. The next floor was Bruce's floor. He had specifically asked for a one bedroom so his floor was also split into a 'small' lab that was where the scientist would tend to hang out if Tony was too busy. At Natasha's and Bruce's request, the next floor was the gun/archery range. Technically, Bruce asked that the floor below him held nothing important while Natasha asked for the range but Tony compromised. Below that was a large common floor that held a living room, communal kitchen, movie theater room, and a library. The bottom floors were various other apartments/rooms for any guests that may arrive at the tower and wasn't invited into the Avengers floors.

A soft knock on Clint's door made the archer pause in his reorganizing of his clothes. He almost had too many younger clothes to fit in the one dresser that Tony had provided. And he certainly didn't have enough hangers. Shaking his head, Clint moved into the other room to answer his door. He wasn't surprised to see Pepper on the other side. She gave him a soft smile before the duo walked back into Clint's bedroom to continue sorting through the clothes. Pepper's eyes widened at the amount but didn't comment on it. She knew sending Clint out with Tony would make the boy spend more than normal. Natasha had mentioned to her once that Clint only bought what was needed and it was normally never enough. Pepper had tried shopping with the archer once before but he somehow turned the trip into shopping for the CEO.

"How are you doing?" Pepper asked as she grabbed a few of the outfits that Clint had already sorted away. Holding up one of the shirts, she silently asked where it belonged. Clint nodded toward the dresser as he shrugged at her earlier question. He was too unsure how she wanted him to answer. Hell, he was unsure of his answer. This whole thing was so messed up. There was no right or wrong answer to this. Actually, since joining the Avengers, Clint was never really sure how he was doing. Things just kept on happening and he could barely deal with the first issue before another one popped up. "Tony told me about Bruce."

"Yeah?" Clint replied. Pepper nodded as she reached for an Iron Man shirt next. She smiled as Clint rolled his eyes and pointed to his closet. Nodding, she moved over there and a soft chuckle escaped her when she noticed the other shirts. Clint groaned lightly, showing his displeasure at the outfits. Pepper's smile increased even as she decided to not mention the clothing that she was certain had been Tony's idea. She had seen them before while out shopping and had been tempted to buy some for the Avengers but could never find each shirt in each Avenger's size.

"Bruce is missing?" Pepper clarified as she hung up the shirt and moved back. She almost wondered if she should mention that Tony would remove all other clothing if Clint never wore the shirts the genius had bought. But she figured Clint would figure it out later. And if Clint tried protesting that by walking around topless, then, the genius did have a stash of his old kids clothes somewhere around the tower. She wouldn't be surprised if those made an appearance.

"I, uh... I think Bruce may have been kidnapped," Clint said, harshly ripping a tag off a pair of jeans. Pepper paused as she frowned before looking over to Clint in surprise. Tony hadn't even mentioned that as a possibility. Heck, he hadn't even mentioned that Clint mentioned it. But as she looked at the boy, she noticed that Clint may not have said that to even Tony. The archer didn't even seem to realize that he said it to her. "I know Tony doesn't think so. I mean, who would kidnap Hulk? But, I think that's why he was taken."

"Ross?" Pepper questioned, having known Bruce's history with the stupid General. Clint shook his head. Ross wasn't one to set something up like this. He was one to attack up front. Not hide in the shadows. Ross would make a spectacle out of it. Brag, make a show. Hell, he would have been waiting at the front gates for Bruce and Steve if it was him.

"From what Steve said before, Bruce hadn't spoken to this 'old friend' in a long time. Then suddenly, this man has the answer to a problem he just got? Why not e-mail the answer? Or call? Why do they have to meet in person? And why at a convention, surrounded by innocent people?" Clint pointed out. Pepper gasped at the revelation that Clint had valid points as to what happened. It was almost as if someone created this story line by watching too much TV. But she didn't want to believe it. "S.H.I.E.L.D has been protecting Bruce as much as possible. There were... No, are, various groups that would love to get their hands on Bruce."

"Do you know who could have taken him?" Clint shook his head. Sadly there were too many answers to that. And if Clint was wrong, it would lead them too far down the wrong path. Also it would give the real kidnappers more time to escape. Frustrated, Clint slammed a drawer close harder than needed. Pepper jumped at the sudden sound. Spinning to face Clint, she was surprised to see him breathing harshly as he used the dresser to support himself. "Are you okay?"

"No. I... I need to do something! I need to help!" Clint growled into the dresser. Pepper took a step forward, intending on soothing the archer but hesitated. Would Clint accept her touch or turn and attack? Deciding it better to stay back, she stopped. Natasha had warned her many times that Clint and physical contact were not good. Even Clint had mentioned it. So Pepper never tried to surprise him with contact.

"Why don't you?" Clint spun around to face her. Fire was burning in his eyes from anger at his situation. Pepper almost stepped back in fear but she knew that Clint would never intentionally hurt her.

"What can I do? I'm a six-year old boy! I can't contact S.H.I.E.L.D, my contacts won't believe what happened! Hell, Tony wouldn't even tell Steve about me!" Pepper gasped, beginning to wonder if Clint would hurt her. She had never really been on the receiving end of one of Clint's angered tirades. It was rather terrifying. Knowing it wasn't good to be afraid of the archer, Pepper continued on. She just put on a brave face and stood her ground like she normally did in board meetings with Stark Industries.

"Do you think he should have?" Clint froze in shock. Pepper sighed, glad that the anger had vanished. Would it have made a difference if Steve knew? Would the super solider have been distracted with the knowledge of Clint being six? Knowing Steve as well as he now did, Clint could only sigh and shake his head no. Pepper gave the archer a sympathetic smile. She was always in this type of position with Tony. Anytime he needed help, she couldn't really offer any. So she knew how much just being there helped. "I know it's hard. You want to help Bruce but you don't know how. Sometimes, just supporting or encouraging the ones who can is a big help."

Clint nodded his head. Getting that Pepper was talking from experience. He jerked his head up in surprise. Experience! Though Clint was six-years old in body, his mind still had all his adult experience. He hadn't thought about that. This was almost like when he watched the Tesseract. Though he never touched the object, from a distance he was able to see what none of the scientists saw. Smiling at the CEO, Clint rushed out of his apartment. Stunned, Pepper quickly followed after while calling the archer's name.

"Clint!" He glanced back at her as he reached the doorway to the stairs. Her confused face stared back at him from his door.

"I always did see better from a distance."

* * *

Clint found Tony in his lab surrounded by monitors displaying hundreds of different images. Watching them for a few seconds, Clint concluded that Tony had hacked in the science convention's security footage and the traffic cameras from around that area. Wondering how the genius was paying attention to each monitor, Clint figured that JARVIS might also be going through the data. Why the AI needed each monitor to go through, Clint couldn't explain but it was a better explanation then Tony watching each monitor. Frowning, the archer debated calling the genius on his ability to hack those places or just to let it drop. Considering Tony only tended to do something like this to help his friends, Clint let it drop. Standing further back, Clint began to sort through the images, trying to see if he could catch something.

"Come on Brucie, where are you?" Tony softly questioned the images. Clint frowned. He hadn't realized how close Tony had gotten to each of them. It was kind of nice to actually see it directed toward someone else. Course the feeling was ruined when Clint realized that Tony was like this cause Bruce may be in danger. Shaking his head, Clint moved forward in an effort to follow Pepper's advice. He needed to support Tony.

"Where did Steve find Bruce's phone?" Clint muttered softly to the genius as he appeared behind his back. The billionaire jumped in surprise at the boy's sudden appearance. Thankfully, Tony had gotten used to having the spies sneaking up on him, so he didn't become too distracted. Instead, Tony went right back to work with a mumbling of getting the archer a bell.

"Over there," Tony replied as he pointed to a monitor on his left. Clint focused on it. Right now the image was of Steve standing in the middle of two stands while looking between them. Security wandered back and forth, disappearing behind the stands as they did so. Clint figured there must be a small alley way that no monitor could show. A perfect place to nab the doctor. "Can't get a good image of between there."

"What did it look like before?" Clint mumbled, reaching for the monitor. Considering it was a hologram, the monitor moved toward Clint as he moved it about. Automatically, it rewound to just before Bruce vanished. Almost as if Tony had JARVIS save that time frame. Steve and Bruce were just starting to be pushed apart by a crowd of people. Clint focused on Bruce. He saw the doc glance toward Steve before retreating down that alleyway. Then nothing. "He panicked because of the crowd."

"Yeah well, unless there is a teleportation device hidden there, Bruce just vanished," Tony remarked. Clint nodded, having assumed as much. With everyone examining the area, Clint could tell he wouldn't get any clues from there. Never mind that this group was smart enough and patient enough to wait for this convention, they wouldn't ruin it by making a petty mistake.

"Did you check behind the stands?" Tony paused in his typing. Clint smiled, knowing he had caught the genius. Sometimes being smart got in the way of simple solutions. Spinning to face the correct monitor, Tony began furiously typing once again. This monitor and the monitor showing Bruce rewound to the same time and shifted to sit in front of the billionaire. Clint watched in one as Bruce slunk into the alley. Turning to the other, he waited a minute or two before a small group of people exited. They split off into two different directions but one group stood out to Clint. He pointed to them. "Them. Follow them."

Tony nodded, trusting Clint to know what he was doing as he focused on the group the archer had pointed at. Using JARVIS, the genius was able to follow them to the parking lot. But the camera where the group supposedly parked was down and so they couldn't see what car they got into. Frowning, Tony had JARVIS calculate how many cars exited over the next hour. It ended up being way too many. Tony cursed. It was the same issue as before. If he followed the wrong one, it could give the kidnappers a higher chance of getting away.

"Like a hundred cars leave over the next hour. Bruce could be in any one of them," Tony complained. Clint frowned. He didn't think they would have left like that. Even if Tony followed each car, it wouldn't be long until Tony found them again. They needed a different plan. Clint almost cursed his slow mind. Being six again was making him sloppy. This was bad. And dangerous for Bruce. Shaking his head, Clint focused on the genius. He had to help the best he could right now.

"Pull up the building schematics," Clint ordered. Tony frowned, wondering what Clint was getting too. After a moment where Tony debated smacking his forehead, the genius realized that though Clint was currently six, he still was technically a spy and assassin. There had to have been at least once where Clint had to capture someone or kidnap them. Nodding his head to Clint, Tony did as ordered. Clint stared at it for a moment before glancing up to the camera that JARVIS used to watch Tony. "JARVIS, can you please show me where the downed camera is and the path that both groups took from the booth?"

"Certainly Agent Barton," JARVIS intoned, pleased that Clint was rather polite in his request. Tony grumbled a little at the change that the archer provided for the AI. Clint ignored him as he silently stared at the schematics. The path that JARVIS highlighted had both groups disappearing right after reaching a downed camera. Clint frowned. Two downed cameras at a convention? Especially two cameras in the parking lot. It was too much of a coincidence. Tony flipped back and forth between looking at Clint and the monitors as if watching the archer could tell the genius what he was looking for. After a bit, the genius got too anxious not knowing what was going on.

"What do you see?" Clint glanced at Tony but didn't reply to him.

"JARVIS, can you possibly line this schematic against all sewer, subway, and electric lines?" Clint added. Without replying himself, JARVIS did as asked. Within seconds, Clint pointed to a spot just after the image cut from the down monitor. "There."

"That leads to the subways, right?" Tony asked, leaning forward to look at where Clint was pointing. Clint nodded.

"The main problem is that this subway line also connects to the sewers and two other lines. We have no way of knowing if they followed the subway or switched to one of the other areas. Never mind if they back tracked toward the station," Clint pointed out. Tony nodded, realizing as much as he looked at the monitor. "These guys are good."

"Well, we'll have to be better," Tony growled. Clint nodded but wasn't sure if they could be. So far they seemed to be at least two steps behind whoever this was. And they certainly weren't at the top of their game. With Clint at only six, Thor and Natasha away, and Steve stuck at the convention, there was just too much going against them. "I'll call Steve and let him know. JARVIS, try checking all paths they could have taken and see if you can find them. Also, track those cars. They could have driven off and are using the lines as a distraction."

"Yes sir," JARVIS called as Tony reached for his cell phone which wasn't placed too far away. The genius then looked to Clint.

"Isn't much we can do now. Why don't you check with Pepper?" Tony pretty much demanded. Clint frowned before realizing that Tony may want to show Steve the evidence they found and neither of them wanted the solider distracted. Nodding, the archer turned and left. As soon as he was out the door, Tony began calling. The door closed just as Steve answered.

"What did you find?"

* * *

**Awesome, 4115 words done. And now the others know about what happened to poor Bruce. Uh-oh. So much is happening and it's only chapter 6.**

**Baby Clint is doing so good! Loves being outdoors right now. Doesn't really use his words which is aggravating but he does use body language and signs enough that we understand it.**

**So, Avengers Age of Ultron came out today. OMG, was that amazing! Really messes with my ideas for Clint in all my stories though... But good thing people don't mind AUs, lol. I promise that I have no spoilers. I'm not mean like that. ^_^**

**BTW, my birthday happens to be Sunday, May 3rd and I would love if everyone who reads this would drop a review with a simple Happy Birthday. Thanks! ^_^**

**Speaking of reviews, lets do responses!**

* * *

**Favorites: ** Lyisle Lualdi, Mickey-Phil, Hannah201, .37

**Followers: ** Mickey-Phil, .37

**Reviews Responses:**

_Guest _\- I'm glad you love the Build-A-Bear part. I actually have future Build-A-Bear parts planned as well, hopefully. ^_^

_Niom Lambiose _\- Cute. Totally going for Cute. Well, cute and funny.

_sammygirl1963_ \- I totally had the idea of Tony getting Clint to dress as Hulk from my husband cause he wants to dress Baby Clint up as Batman all the time. I think we have more Batman tee shirts than Avengers tee shirts... And the funny thing is, when we ask Baby Clint what shirt he wants to wear when we open his closet up, he chooses Mickey Mouse shirts, lol. Build-A-Bear loves every time I go in and tell them about the story. In fact, I now own two different bears. Stevie and Tony-pony. I have to go back and make the Hulk bear and Thor bear. I'm not sure what to name them though.

_MO-5431 _\- I'm glad you like the chapter. And actually thank you so much for this review it actually made me mentally think about what I wrote and realize, I forgot to put in Steve's reaction. :P Whoops. lol. Guess I have to quickly go back and write that in at some point. tee hee.


	7. Chapter 7

After leaving the lab and Tony's presence, Clint headed up to the communal floor. He believed that Pepper would either be there, or in Tony's and her bedroom, or in her office at Stark Industries. Not finding her on the communal floor, Clint debated asking JARVIS where she was. Just to save himself the trouble of wandering around. It didn't really matter to him where she was cause he wasn't concerned with her safety. Out of all of the people living in Avenger's tower, Pepper was actually the safest. Or second safest if one wanted to consider the fact that Bruce couldn't be killed thanks to Hulk. But he could still be taken and Pepper kind of wouldn't. See, Pepper was too high profile to be kidnapped by villains and used against the Avengers. Too much was at stake in going after her, so no one wanted to mess with her. But then again, considering what just happened to Clint and Tony wasn't sure how to fix it...

"JARVIS, where's Pepper?" Clint called, feeling better if he knew where the CEO was. He had figured that no one wanted to mess with Bruce and here they were, trying to find out who took Bruce. It was best to know. Especially for his peace of mind given what was going on. Though he knew that Pepper wasn't in trouble, Clint just needed to know. It was for the best.

"Miss Potts had to go downstairs for an important Stark Industries safety meeting. It happens once a month and can last all night long," JARVIS replied, figuring that Clint was asking because he needed to speak with her. Clint nodded, unconcerned with the added information. If Pepper was at SI, then JARVIS was watching over her and she was safe. Hell, SI was the safest place for her. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Nah, I'm good," Clint answered just as his stomach rumbled in hunger. At that, the archer paused, glaring at his stomach as if it intentionally betrayed him, while he waited for the AI to comment. Mentally, he heard JARVIS laughing like Tony would at the situation. Thankfully, the AI didn't make a single sound. Almost like he was ignoring the archer. Clint figured it was just cause JARVIS was actually really nice and not like his creator at all and shrugged it off.

Focusing on why his stomach growled, Clint realized the last time he had actually eaten was the day before. It had been the soup that Pepper had given him. The worst part was that he actually hadn't even eaten that much. How had that happened? Hadn't Tony mentioned eating when they went shopping? When did they skip that? Why did they skip that? Heck, why did it take his stomach so long to mention that he was rather hungry? At this age, it should have made more of a fuss... Then again, at this age, Clint had tended to be starved a lot. That would explain why it took so long.

Sighing, the archer headed to the kitchen with every intention of making food. He had no idea what he'd make or even if he'd find anything. Sometimes there was nothing in the kitchen cause Steve or Bruce had raided it beforehand and other times there was too much food for him to actually make a choice. Clint actually really hated that. When he had the choice of what to eat, he usually either overate, or just stared at the food until someone came in and saw him staring. That normally always turned into embarrassing conversations...

_"Clint, why aren't you getting anything to eat?"_

_"Is there any food?"_

_"What's up? Something not to your liking?_

_"You feeling hot or just wanted to cool off the floor some?"_

Oh the questions didn't end there. Some of them were even worse. It all depended on who caught him staring at the food. Bruce and Steve tended to be nicer were as Tony and Natasha tended to make fun of him. Then again... Bruce and Steve both knew what it was like to starve and sometimes Clint would catch the two of them staring at the fridge, lost in decision making as well. But he would just back away and act as if he hadn't seen them. Tony and Natasha hadn't been starved. Well, Natasha supposedly hadn't been. She claimed she had been a few times but, Clint had never really seen her show any signs of past tendencies like Bruce, Steve and himself have tended to show.

It didn't take the boy long to reach the kitchen and shake out of his memories of past encounters with his friends. He first hit the fridge where he found turkey slices, cheese slices and mayo. Smiling he grabbed them and closed the door. Turning, he placed them on the island behind him. Walking over to the cabinets, he grabbed the bread and pulled out a slices enough for three sandwiches. While there, he noticed a bag of Doritos and Lays chips. Smiling, he mentally set a reminder to grab them. Turning back, he made a turkey sandwich and a cheese sandwich. The rest of the bread he intended to eat plain. Grabbing the rest of the turkey and cheese, he returned them to the fridge and pulled out a beer and a can of soda (his normal drinks). Spinning back to the bags of chips, he grabbed them as well. Placing them with his sandwiches and bread, he thought better about what he had. With a thoughtful frown, he began looking through cabinets were he pulled out Pop Tarts, graham crackers and some Ritz crackers.

Pleased with his 'haul,' Clint headed down to the communal living room. There he plopped down on the couch and relaxed back. Slowly, he spread the food out around him. Some of it on the couch cushions while others ended on the table in front of him. Taking a huge bite of out his sandwich, Clint prepared to relax for a bit. There wasn't much more he could do. Tony was talking to Steve, Steve wasn't allowed to know he was six, Bruce was missing and Clint had done all his could to help... Pepper was in a meeting so... Ah... Swallowing the bite, Clint realized he missed one step in his relaxing faze.

"JARVIS, can you please put something on that I don't need to pay attention too?" Clint called to the AI. JARVIS didn't reply. Instead the TV flickered on and a Disney logo came up. Clint snorted in humor at the choice but didn't tell JARVIS to turn it off. After Tony had learned about everyone's lack of pop culture knowledge, the genius demanded that they watch a large collection of movies. Most of them they were childish movies or even stupid comedies. But the others felt it was just easier to watch everything then deal with Tony insulting them. Most times, these movies were watched as a group bonding night event. But sometimes, someone missed one due to them being out of the tower and no way to return. This particular movie, _The Little Mermaid_, was watched as a group while Clint was away.

"Is there anything else I can do for you?" JARVIS softly inquired over the opening of the movie. The AI debated if he should mention that Clint shouldn't be drinking beer in his current state. But figuring that Clint wouldn't stop anyways, JARVIS just let the archer continue. Something that the AI had learned to do when dealing with Tony as well. A lot of times it was just easier to sit back and watch the issue than fight and seethe in anger of loosing after. Clint shook his head, swallowing the last bit of his turkey sandwich. He smirked at Sebastian cueing up the band. This was going to be perfect.

"Nah, just keep the video's coming," Clint answered as he grabbed for some more of his food. JARVIS acknowledged Clint by preparing two different queues. One was filled with movies that Clint had missed while away or sick. The other had movies that Clint had already seen. By 'Part of Your World,' Clint had finished eating and drinking. A huge yawn swept across his face as he settled down. JARVIS dimmed the lights. By the end of 'Poor Unfortunate Souls,' Clint was gently snoring away. Glad that the archer was finally resting, JARVIS noted the time of 8:49 pm and turned down the volume. When the movie finished, JARVIS switched to the list Clint had already seen.

This list was mostly filled with Disney movies. JARVIS saw no harm in continuing with that theme seeing as Clint didn't disagree and with his current age, that was the best genre. A few months before hand, Tony had gotten into that mood of just wanting to watch kiddy movies. He just kept them coming and no one had been able to break him out of it. The others didn't really mind, in fact they tended to really enjoy the movies, but at the same time they wanted it to end. It was actually surprising how much they all tended to enjoy watching movies from their childhood era. Then again, considering how many of them actually really enjoyed a full length childhood era, it was more like they were getting one now.

JARVIS was able to play six and a half movies before someone else came into the room. The AI wasn't surprised to see it was Pepper. Nor was he surprised to see that she was absolutely miserable. Though most of the tenants in Avenger's tower could go without sleep and look unaffected, Pepper did need her sleep. Never mind the fact that Pepper just had to deal with a SI meeting about security. Those types of meetings tended to take a lot out of the CEO to begin with and now she did it on less sleep than normal. No, JARVIS was not surprised that she looked the way she did.

Pepper slunk into the room, not even paying attention to her surroundings. _Tangled_ was currently playing on the TV. 'Mother Knows Best Reprise' just started as she dropped into the closest chair she could reach. She kicked off her heels and plopped back into the cushions with a loud sigh before she began hearing the familiar sounds of the song. Perking up a little, she looked to the TV. A smile spread across her face. This was actually one of her most recent favorite Disney films. So much so that she secretly hoarded a small roam full of _Tangled_ memorabilia that was worth a rather large sum of money. Only Natasha knew of this secret obsession and sometimes added to it. The CEO chuckled at the movie.

"Tangled? JARVIS should I be worried?" she asked, not realizing someone else was in the room with her. In her mind, the AI was watching the movie by himself. JARVIS used his massive control of the tower's electronics to brighten a light over Clint's sleeping form before quickly dimming it when the CEO glanced over. Her smile grew as she leaned forward to stare at the sleeping archer. He had dropped down onto his side at some point and his face was crushed into an empty Lays bag.

As silently as she could, she dug into her pants and pulled out her phone. Loading up the camera app, Pepper aimed it at the sleeping boy. The shuttering click that the phone made while snapping the picture made Clint jerk awake in seconds. Pepper jumped in surprise but knew better than to speak to Clint right away. Having been living with two spies for a while now, Pepper had gotten used to random things like this happening. She honestly shouldn't have been surprised that something as stupid as the shutter click on her phone would have woken him.

"Wha's goin' on?" Clint blearily called, looking around for some sort of attacker. Pepper would have laughed at the boy if she didn't feel so guilty for waking him up. Natasha had warned everyone before they moved in that Clint was actually a light sleeper and that he tended to be more dangerous when he just woke up. His body used muscle memory to attack whoever was nearby and his mind wouldn't catch up until too late. She even added that he had gotten worse since Loki. Clint's unfocused eyes settled on the CEO. He looked even more confused. Pepper tensed, ready to run if need be. Even as a six year old, Pepper wasn't sure how he'd react to someone waking him from a sleep like this. Who knows what could happen. So she trusted what she had been doing in the past, and waited until he focused on her and spoke. "Pepper?"

"Yeah, you're on the common floor of the tower. You feel asleep on the couch," Pepper soothed, figuring a calm voice would be best for dealing with the tired boy. Clint nodded, relieved that Pepper didn't intentionally try to set off any of his triggers. Not that many muscle reactions really existed in this body, but his mind would still try and react to his old triggers. Slowly, he dropped back down onto the couch. Hearing the crunch of plastic, Clint groaned before sweeping his hand over the couch cushion and pushing everything to the floor. Pepper frowned at the mess but decided not to do anything about it right now. Clint glanced at the movie and smirked as another song began playing on the TV. Pepper watched as he slowly drifted off again. For a moment, she grew concerned. "JARVIS, how long has he been sleeping?"

"Almost onto eight hours. But from my memory, he hadn't slept well the past week," JARVIS informed her. Pepper nodded. She had assumed as much as Clint had looked tired before. Of all of the Avengers, Pepper tended to worry about Clint the most (outside of Tony of course). She noticed when he wasn't at his best. Slowly, she got out of her chair and headed for one of many hallway closets. Opening the door, she quickly grabbed a blanket and returned to the couch. As gently as she could, Pepper draped it over Clint. He cracked open an eye at the feeling before smiling gently and pulling it over himself a bit more. Pepper smiled, pleased that he was safe and resting. Not wanting to disturb him anymore, she headed for the elevator. "Where do you wish to go?"

"Tony's lab," she told the AI. No response came back except the elevator moving down.

* * *

"Steve, I'm doing all I can!" Tony cried into his cell phone. Pepper froze in the doorway. She hadn't asked what the genius was doing. In fact, she wasn't even sure she cared how busy he was, all she wanted was an update. But Tony sounded hassled and worried. "JARVIS is tracking everything. This could take days, weeks! I don't know!" There was a pause, one were Pepper knew that Steve was berating Tony. She debated going over to his side but suddenly his face looked pained. Something that was never good when it came to him. "No! Don't come here!" Another pause. Pepper frowned. Why couldn't Steve come back to the tower? "What if Bruce is there? You could be there in minutes! Or, what if Hulk gets loose?" Again, a pause. Pepper realized they were valid points. It was best to have them all separated. A better chance that someone was near where Bruce was. "We're fine here! Clint is checking on things and as am I. We're doing all we can!" Pepper moved forward again as Tony paused to listen. He sounded desperate and panicky. But before she got too close, Tony relaxed into a relieved posture and sighed. "I know. I'll call with news."

With that, the genius hung up. Sighing deeply, he placed the cell phone on the desk before him. Pepper waited just out of reach behind him and watched. He looked more run down than usual. Almost like he was blaming himself for this whole mess. While Clint's issue may actually be his fault, Bruce getting kidnapped was not. Pepper felt bad. She wished there was more that she could do to help. In fact, when she was at the SI meeting, she mentioned that the Avengers were dealing with an issue and had asked for their help feeling their eyes and ears open for news on Bruce.

"Tony?" she called. Tony jumped in surprise and spun around. He hadn't expected anyone else to come visit him. In fact, he had expected to be alone for the rest of the night. He assumed that Pepper would have gone to sleep as soon as she left the meeting.

"Jesus! Don't do that! You freaked me out!" Tony cried at her. Pepper frowned and watched as the genius gripped his Arc Reactor in a daze. She knew he had no idea that she had entered but that was no reason for him to act so dramatic. Or, was he just that over stimulated? Pepper decided to go for over stimulated and just shook off his anger as stress.

"Sorry," Pepper replied even though she knew it wasn't her fault. Tony had so much on his mind that he hadn't been paying attention to if someone had come in the room. The billionaire nodded, not wanting to admit that he shouldn't have snapped at her. Instead, he looked up into her eyes almost expecting her to say something to get him moving. "Is Steve okay?"

"He's worried about Bruce," Tony admitted with another sigh as he turned back around. Pepper nodded and placed a hand on Tony's shoulder. Tony leaned into the touch. He needed comfort right now. So much just seemed to be going wrong right now. JARVIS was busy looking through every bit of data possible and doing normal chores that the AI couldn't do anything else. Steve was stuck off at that stupid convention, looking for signs for Bruce. Clint was upstairs, stuck in the body of a six year old boy... And poor Bruce... Tony was basically stuck just waiting, hoping and praying for an answer.

"We all are," Pepper answered as if it made a difference. Tony nodded and looked up at her. It made a bit of a difference knowing that there were others feeling the same way but... No one really knew the full extent of why Tony was worried. Tony had so much on his mind. There was almost too much... Tony sighed deeply.

"He... He said that I... I should be doing more," Tony muttered. Pepper tensed. Oh how she wished she could slap Steve and actually have him feel it. But she knew from experience that the super soldier wouldn't and she may actually do more damage to herself instead. Damn that super soldier serum... Tony shook his head and looked down. "He wants to come back. Almost like he doesn't trust me."

"No, Tony!" Pepper called, wishing that Tony had more confidence in himself. "He knows you're working. Maybe he feels that the answers will come faster from here and he wants to be part of that?" she suggested. Tony frowned. He really hadn't thought of that. Not that he really liked how that made sense. It was like Clint wanting to go to Steve cause he'd be more use over there. Tony sighed and relaxed further into his chair as his mind wrapped around the different reactions from his friends. Could they all really be that different but also still be the same? So different in their reactions and approach but the same in their wanting to help? Pepper gave a soft smile, knowing that she was really helping. Shifting to stand behind the genius, she began rubbing his shoulders to help him relax even more. It didn't last long.

"This sucks ass," Tony complained as he shifted under Pepper's pressing fingers. He never could stand being relaxed for long. Pepper paused.

"I know. You want to do more. Waiting is always the hardest part," Pepper stated, her knowledge on the fact making it's point stick more. Tony grimaced realizing that this must be how the CEO always felt whenever the Avengers went off on a mission. "How about you work on a different problem?"

"JARVIS is busy. Bruce is missing and I can't help Clint without Bruce so... No projects," Tony moaned. Pepper smiled. Tony had gotten too used to using JARVIS on all of his projects that it was almost like he had forgotten how to do it himself. Heck, Pepper was almost positive that Tony wouldn't survive a day without either JARVIS or a living human by his side to tell him what to do.

"Why not work on some of those Stark Industries projects that I've been asking for? For months, I might add," Pepper asked. Tony shook his head. He had actually finished those projects within the first week she had asked for. Actually, he was a few projects ahead of Pepper. Leaning forward, he pulled one of the older files up on the computer. Pepper moved around him. "You did them already?"

"Yup," Tony stated, uncaring as he backed away so she could get a better look. Pepper glanced through the file before noting something rather important. Something that Tony normally tended to change before sending it onto Pepper. She spun around and slapped the back of his head. Tony almost tipped his chair over in shock before grabbing his head. "Ow! What was that for?"

"How long ago did you do these?" she accused. Tony would have laughed at her if he was in a better mood but he just wasn't up for games. So, he simply shrugged and looked away from her again. She frowned before realizing something. Leaning forward, she smacked him again. This time he gave her a weak smile. But she didn't look as pleased as he was beginning to feel. "What else do you already have done?"

"Uh..." Tony stalled, beginning to feel more like himself. Pepper arched her arm back as if preparing for another smack. Tony winced before grabbing his head while chuckling. Pepper tried not to smile as she watched Tony begin to relax into the old self that she remembered and loved dearly. "Alright, alright! Nearly everything." Pepper saw something sparkle in his eyes and so she titled her head in accusation. "Okay! Everything!"

"Tony!" Pepper whined, sounding more like a CEO than Tony's girlfriend. Tony rolled his eyes and began printing out the files she needed. But there was more than just files, so Tony then stood and headed off to go find the psychical projects he had completed. Pepper shook her head. She almost couldn't believe how much was done. For a minute she was unsure if she should be happy or pissed about the whole thing. Finally, she looked to him. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Peps, I need time for my projects," Tony whined. Pepper frowned. He had all the time in the world to do his things. Most of SI believed that Tony just spent all his time on himself and never really did anything for SI. Tony looked at her. "If Stark Industries thinks I can do more projects faster, they'll demand such. So, if I keep my work to a minimum they'll hand some of the easier projects off to other people. That gives me more time to work on harder projects or other things."

"But Tony," Pepper tried to beg. Tony shook his head. He had thought long and hard about this. After all of his history with his father, Tony swore, he'd never make the same mistakes.

"I know Stark Industries needs me. But... I kind-of wish that some else in the company could step up. You know I check everyone out before hiring them. There are a lot of really brilliant minds down there. If I keep getting all the projects, they can't blossom into the minds that I know they can be," Tony pointed out. Pepper sighed. Slowly she walked over to the billionaire. He tensed, watching her for any dangerous signs. But all she did was pull him into a hug and then kissed him. Tony smiled when she pulled away. She gave a smile back and shook her head.

"Just keep doing what you're doing, Tony Stark."

* * *

**Tee hee. 4092 words long. Hope everyone likes it. Happy Mother's Day to every mother, grandmother, aunt and mother-to-be out there!**

**Baby Clint is doing wonderful. He is really expressing himself a lot more. Using more words. Heard cookie, 'bless u' and a few other words this past week. Yes, I totally squealed with delight. ^_^ I can't wait until he is fully talking. And please, totally remind me of that when in future chapters I'm complaining that he won't stop. lol.**

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**Reviews Responses:**

_Niom Lambiose _\- Lol. I love when you review. I'm glad you like what has been happening. I hope you continue to like it all.

_sammygirl1963_ \- Thank you for the birthday wishes. I actually had a great birthday. I got to go to a nearby zoo that has a deer forest where we can feed the deer. Most of the deer this time around were shy but they were still nice to be around. Baby Clint tried to feed them his graham crackers after a we ran out of their corn feed and he tried to have a snack in front of them. Lol. As for the chapter, 'marvelous' wow... That's a first for my writing. Thanks for that. And I was going for those types of emotions. So, I'm sorry but kind of glad that I made you feel that, lol. Anyways, I'm happy to hear that you are looking forward to more and here is chapter 7. ^_^

_pottyandweezlbe89 _\- Yup, a new story. A pretty long one too. Glad you love it so far. Hope everyone continues to love it. ^_^

_grushma239 _\- Thank you for the birthday wishes. And I'm glad you love hearing about Baby Clint. I'm even more glad to hear you love my story. Hope you continue to enjoy it.

_MO-5431 _\- Yeah, I have the later chapters written and I went back and realized Stevie never made another appearance. That's what I actually meant. So I had to re-write in that part. Hence why I tend to write all my stories out before posting as much as possible. That way I can fix things like this. Lol. I hope I can get it to mold well so that no one can even really note the difference when it actually happens. ^_^ Anyways, glad you are enjoying everything that I have written so far.

_Guest _\- Thank you for the birthday wishes! ^_^ And I'm glad you love the story so far. I hope you continue to love it.


	8. Chapter 8

A week passed with no news of Bruce's whereabouts. All possible leads that JARVIS found were investigated by Steve or Tony and so far, none of it panned out to be much of anything. Tony was beginning to have issues in convincing Steve to stay away from the Tower as the soldier was convinced that Bruce wasn't anywhere in the convention's vicinity and it had long since ended. But so far the billionaire was able to come up with various 'leads' or reasons as to why it was best that Steve stayed away.

The genius even sent a message to Jane Foster telling her that if Thor (who still had yet to return from his random vacation) returned to her first, he should join Steve as soon as possible as the solider was alone. Steve didn't like this idea but considering Tony had JARVIS fake Clint's agreement, Steve couldn't really argue. As far as getting information to Natasha, Tony learned he had to go through S.H.I.E.L.D to get her any information. And Fury already mentioned that he didn't inform the Widow about Bruce's kidnapping. Her mission for S.H.I.E.L.D was apparently far more important than a missing Avenger. Clint was stunned that Tony didn't want to tell S.H.I.E.L.D about what happened to him, but then again...

"Okay, so who else are we going to keep this from?" Clint asked, jumping onto the desk next to Tony. The genius didn't even flinch, having gotten used to the six year-old scampering around. It really helped that Tony knew that Clint still had his elder mindset even though he looked like a kid. But lately, Tony had been noticing that Clint was almost forgetting more things. Things around the tower that the archer had recently been getting used to. A good example of such was when Tony led the boy down to the 'theater' room and Clint basically freaked out in a very similar reaction to the first time he had seen it.

"S.H.I.E.L.D, Steve, Thor, Natasha, uh... Bruce... The world?" Tony suggested. Clint narrowed his eyes at the genius. That seemed like a lot of people and some of it had already been broken. Pepper had complained earlier in the week that the Press was going frantic trying to find out news about Tony's 'son'. Tony of course thought that was hilarious. Clint and him didn't look anything alike. Tony looked over at the boy. "Fine! I don't know! I'm just kind of avoiding mentioning it to everyone."

"So, it's not really secret?" Clint muttered. Tony shook his head before going back to looking over Bruce's notes on the serum that was accidently used on Clint. He had to find something. Clint cleared his throat. "So... If I wanted to, I could sneak into HQ and scare the crap out of Fury?"

"If you want... Wait... Why?" Tony questioned, spinning to face the boy. Clint smirked and grabbed a bag he had brought with him. From it, he pulled out a Nerf N-Strike Elite Mega Thunderbow Blaster. Tony stared at if for a minute before busting out laughing. He could almost picture what the boy wanted to do with the simple toy. "Where the hell did you find that?"

"Pepper got it for me," Clint said with a huge grin. Tony made grabby fingers for it. Nodding, Clint handed it over. Beginning to smirk himself, Tony began checking the whole thing out.

"Why?" he distractedly called. Clint shrugged and hopped down to watch the genius fiddle with his new toy. The boy hadn't even asked for it. Pepper had come by earlier that morning and handed it to him with a sob story explaining why she was giving it to him. Clint just thanked her and came up with a plan on what he wanted to do with it but when Pepper told him why she was giving it to him; she also mentioned some rules that he wanted clarifying.

"Apparently, Pepper thinks that cause you don't want our friends knowing about what happened to me, then the help shouldn't either. So, she went to wash some of my clothes and your machine ate them," Clint replied. Tony stopped messing with the bow.

"My washing machine ate your clothes?" Tony mimicked. Clint nodded. He suddenly looked really guilty. Clint raised an eyebrow. Honestly the boy should have known that Tony was behind what happened. The archer placed his hands on his hips and looked harshly down at Tony.

"What did you do?" Clint accused. Tony smirked as he lost himself in what seemed like a fond memory.

"A couple of years ago, I tried to do an April Fools Prank. I made the washing machine so it could read finger prints the year before. So, I messed with the settings a little so that when Pepper went to do laundry, it would do the opposite of whatever she told it to do. Kind-of forgot about the employees that she hired to do everyday chores and then... Well, forgot to ever fix the settings," Tony explained. Clint snorted in humor and leaned on Tony's desk. It would have been a good idea for a joke. "Sorry."

"It's fine. We bought so many outfits that I could probably go an entire year without doing laundry," Clint joked. Tony smirked. Oh, there was an opening that Tony was going to take. After going to Build-A-Bear and finding out about the Avenger's merchandise, Tony was actually looking forward to going out and finding more items. Hell, he was maybe even thinking of decking out the whole tower in Avenger's merch.

"Well, we could go get some more if you want," Tony suggested. Clint shook his head. The boy could already picture it now, the whole tower completely covered in Avenger toys, figures, posters, towels, throws and other such useless and pointless items that would embarrass everyone but Tony.

"Nah. Got too much. Just yesterday I spent twenty minutes trying to figure out what I wanted to wear. I never had that problem before," Clint admitted. Tony laughed before realizing what Clint meant. No one cared about him enough to get him clothes. He never had the ability to and by the time he did, the archer was too used to living with a small amount of clothes. Clint watched Tony and noticed the man draw into himself. The boy could see where this was going. He had to stop it. "Hey, man. It's not a big deal. If you want, we can go out. I could always buy some more Nerf weapons."

"Yeah," Tony muttered, feeling a little distracted now. Slowly he looked back at the bow. He snorted at it. "I could make something better than this."

"I know. Pepper knows too. But, we didn't want to bother you," Clint mumbled. Tony waved his hand. He totally needed a distraction right now.

"JARVIS isn't as busy after going through many of the scenarios. By the end of the day, I'll have a bunch of weapons for you!" Tony declared. Clint shook his head and rolled his eyes while grabbing for the toy. Tony tugged it back. For a moment, Clint was terrified that he wasn't going to get the toy back. "I'm gonna need this for an extra minute."

"What? Why?" Clint called as Tony stood and headed over to a different table. The boy was panicking now. He wanted the toy still. It was a gift and important to him. But as they neared the table, Clint noticed something different about the table. This one was clear of anything, almost as if someone came by and swept everything off the minute before Clint arrived. A further glance of the table actually showed that this table was a scanner. Tony placed the toy onto it and right away, JARVIS activated it. It scanned the entire bow before Tony grabbed it and handed it back. Clint quickly snatched it away and nervously glanced it over while asking, "All done?"

"With that piece of crap. Come back at dinner, I'll have something better," Tony declared, fully setting himself up into work mode. Clint smiled wondering if he'd still be able to enjoy these toys when he is grown again. A glance at Tony, who was fully in work mode, made his smile widen. Yeah, he'd be able to. Off in the distance Dum-E stood there with Stevie balancing on his mechanical arm.

* * *

Clint messed with a Nerf bow again, trying to fix the trajectory. So far, his normally excellent aim was worse than when he was first training. The Nerf toy wasn't as good as he expected. Then again, this was his first attempt at ever shooting with a toy. He was actually used to shooting with object professionally made that were meant for killing purposes or sport purposes, not just for fun. Checking himself again, Clint tried again. This time his aim was better. Shooting again, it missed the target. The archer cursed. Moving to the target, he collected the little Nerf arrows and glanced them over. There were slight differences in the two that he was holding. So not only was the bow made weird, but the 'arrows' were cheap. Sighing, he turned back to the main shooting area. Tony was standing there with his hands behind his back.

"JARVIS mentioned that your toy sucks," Tony declared, almost happy that Clint was failing. Clint glared at him. Rolling his eyes, Tony moved his hands in front of him; they held a bow and arrow set that looked similar to the Nerf bow. Clint raised an eyebrow at the items before looking to the genius. Tony shrugged. "I based it on the design of the toy but made it to the actual specs that you gave me before. Didn't really want Pep to know that I fixed them for you."

Without a word, Clint grabbed for the bow, spun and shot one of the arrows. Dead center. Clint smiled. Looking down at it, Clint spun it around to stare at every angle. Tony just smiled, not saying a word. After a minute, Clint grabbed another arrow and shot without even looking. Again, dead center.

"This will do," Clint said, sounding more pleased than Tony could ever remember. Tony smirked. Hell, the genius couldn't remember adult Clint sounding that thankful with him. But then again, at six years old, this Clint didn't have as many years disappointment as adult Clint.

"Make sure JARVIS records whatever havoc you create with that," Tony told him. Clint nodded. "I'm still working on some more weapons. Actually, I think I might make a toy line for kids."

"With weapons?" Clint asked, giving the billionaire a skeptical look. Tony frowned before shrugging.

"They can't kill anyone. And I won't just make weapons. I'll do other things. I have plans. Big plans," Tony said before spinning around. As he walked off, Clint heard the genius mentioning something about games to test a kid's knowledge. Shaking his head, Clint went back to shooting and testing his new bow. Plans started forming in his head of different things he could do with this toy. Especially seeing as Clint could already tell that Tony was smart enough to make different arrowhead types like suction cups, glue heads, and nets... Oh, the fun.

* * *

Pepper was busy filling out the rest of the paperwork she had collected from Tony the week before. It was still somewhat of a shock that he had done all of it, never mind keep it a secret from her. She almost wondered if she should keep a closer eye on him. Who knows what that man was up to in his lab? Hours on end, by himself doing lord knows what. For all Pepper knows half the time, Tony could be dead in there. She had walked in on him once with the Arc Reactor half hanging out his chest.

JARVIS had mentioned that he could record Tony's happenings in the lab even if Tony asked for it to be kept secret. Course, the AI was also smart enough to know if it was some sort of gift for the CEO, then he best keep silent. But Pepper felt she needed to trust Tony. He was a genius and if he claimed that this was how he needed to run SI, then that was that. Besides, he made a good point. If Tony was handed everything to do and did it all himself, then no one was given the opportunity to shine. By limiting the amount of work that he does, that means that SI must pass some of the work to other employees and give them the chance to show that they know just as much or maybe even more (in that field) than Tony.

Thankfully, even with all this paperwork from Tony, Pepper's office was silent right now. A rarity since the Avengers moved into the top of the tower. Normally, there was something going on like; security complaining about the reporters, new hires or temps asking permissions for autographs and such. But right now, it was rather relaxing and soothing. She could almost get used to this. So she took this moment to lay down her pen and sit back and just let out a deep sigh. Yes, this was nice. She wasn't going to worry about Bruce, or Clint, or Natasha on her mission, or Thor away on his vacation... Or anything.

Suddenly, from outside her office, Pepper heard a sudden high pitched squeal of faux horror. Standing, mostly out of surprise, she went to round her desk but could barely take a step before the door was flung open. Making a huge dramatic entrance, Pepper's secretary, Ella, stumbled through the doorway with a toy arrow suction cupped to her head. Pepper almost snorted in laughter at the sight but instead was too stunned and just watched. Ella reached out for Pepper with fake dying gasps as the woman stumbled into the room.

"I've been shot! I'm dead! No! Worse, I'm dying! Run before they get you too!" Ella cried at Pepper as she stumbled a few more steps forward and then dropped to the ground. Pepper almost laughed then but held it back. She could barely hold back a large smile that came across her face as Ella let out a loud dying gasp. Ella had been hired only four months after Tony had made her CEO and Natasha had to leave because her mission was over. Pepper had gone through at least two people a week during that time. Ella only stayed because she had a really good sense of humor and enjoyed spending time with Tony even on his bad days. Pepper shook her head at Ella as the woman peeked open her eyes to see Pepper still standing there. Muttering through the carpet, Ella made one last plee. "Run!"

"Oh no! Whatever shall I do! There has been a murder!" Pepper dramatically called as a figure dropped out of the ceiling from the hallway. The figure crouched low for a bit before standing and walking toward the two women. Pepper gave the boy a smile as he entered to room. She could only imagine how bored Clint must be to come down to the Stark Industries floors. He had been spending most of the time up on the Avengers floors. Ella glanced down at the boy with a pleased looking scowl through silted eyes.

"By now, a dead person's muscles would have relaxed so your eyes would be open," Clint told the woman as he kneeled down by her body. Pepper snorted as Ella opened her eyes to stare at Clint. In another dramatic show of death, she gasped again and lolled her tongue out of her mouth. Clint smirked and shook his head; a sign that that normally didn't happen in actual deaths like this. Ella didn't seem to care. "Then again, you wouldn't have been able to call out to Pepper, never mind get out of your seat and come in here. But, thanks for the show."

"Clint," Pepper warned as Ella rolled her eyes and began working on getting up. Clint glanced over at the CEO and shrugged his shoulders at her. Ella, who had most interactions with Tony, had been told about the Avengers by Pepper before. She had been forced to sign multiple Non-Disclosure agreements before finding out about any of the Avengers. S.H.I.E.L.D had surprisingly been fine with letting most of SI know who the Avengers actually were. Especially seeing as the Avengers newest HQ was going to be Stark Tower and SI's main HQ was still going to be inside Stark Tower as well.

"I was expecting someone older," Ella stated to Clint as she began brushing off imaginary dirt from her outfit. Clint snorted, not surprised that Ella knew who he was. Pepper almost gasped in shock. She hadn't mentioned to key personal about what had happened to Clint. It was one of the main things she had promised to do when the Avengers where first moved in. But then again, Clint and Tony seemed fine on keeping the whole thing a secret from Steve and even S.H.I.E.L.D so she couldn't be entirely blamed. Heck, her statements to the press were that the boy seen with Tony in public was a charity thing. He first day with the boy didn't go well as the boy had come down with a small cold and the next day they went out shopping for clothing and toys for their orphanage.

"And I expected a more mature reaction," he countered. He was too used to the reactions he got at S.H.I.E.L.D. Coulson and Fury usually only let him get away with harmless pranks like this if one; they were harmless, two; they taught the person a lesson, and three; he didn't get caught. He didn't ever get caught but it was now well known around S.H.I.E.L.D that if something stupid happened to you, Agent Barton was the one to blame. Ella snorted at the boy and looked down at him with a look that basically told him to think about what he just said. Clint smirked. Yeah, he should have thought of that.

"I work for Tony Stark's girlfriend. Never mind in a building with the Avengers. You really think that I didn't get a full warning on what could happen. Hell, I had to sign a NDA before even knowing that I was going to interview for a job at SI," Ella answered. Clint snorted having read the NDA that Pepper had made everyone in the building sign. If they didn't sign it, they wouldn't work in the tower. Amazingly enough, most people who made it past the interview stage ended up staying for the job. Unless, they had nearly every day interactions with Tony... Most of those people lasted weeks. Sometimes only months. "Besides, what else would someone do after being shot by a toy arrow when they know Hawkeye is upstairs and bored?"

"Most people report me to higher management in an effort to get me in trouble," Clint mentioned, his experience with the Helicarrier being so much more different that his experiences with SI staff. Ella shrugged and looked over at Pepper. The CEO had a small smile in place showing that she though this whole thing was rather funny as well. Clint smirked as he looked at Pepper as well. Yeah, he doubted he'd get in trouble here either.

"I bet Mr. Stark told you to have JARVIS record this. Or he'll complain about not being involved," Ella replied. Clint laughed remembering his discussion with the genius earlier that day. He looked to Pepper before pointing to Ella.

"I like her." Pepper snorted as her mind flashed back to the first day that Tony met Ella. Ella laughed.

"Tony said the same thing," Pepper told him. Clint nodded as Ella seemed to puff herself up in pride. Ella moved over to Pepper's desk to take away all the papers the CEO had finished. When she turned back to Clint, she frowned. The Avengers were all adults, yet here he was, a simple six year old child. Knowing Tony, Ella wondered if maybe the genius was testing something on the archer. Heck, Tony worked alongside Bruce Banner; a man who changed his own genetic code with gamma radiation. Never mind Captain America – a man who was given a random serum that turned him from a sickly young man to the man he is now. Looking back to Pepper, she spoke with concern.

"Can I ask what happened and if I should be concerned?"

"We don't really know," Clint answered. Ella looked back at him in surprise. Now she was really concerned. For all they knew this was some airborne virus that means she could wake up tomorrow as a two year old. "Just woke up as six years old again. No one else had been affected and Tony seems to have an idea of what happened but he ain't sharin."

"Six?" Ella countered, sounding unsure of this. Clint smirked. He always had people questioning his age. Without a word, he nodded. She raised an eyebrow at him. And he gave her a look that dared her to question him again.

"Okay, Ella, that's enough. Back to work," Pepper finally declared, not wanting them to get into a fight. Ella nodded to the CEO before handing the toy arrow to Clint with a smile and leaving. Clint smiled at her and watched her leave. The second the door was closed, Clint looked at Pepper and was stunned to see a disapproving face staring back at him. "I can understand Tony doing something like this, but you?"

"What can I say? I'm a punk," Clint said with a smile. Pepper shook her head and sat back down, feeling as if her conversation with Clint was over. Clint moved deeper into the room. He had more questions for her though. "Does everyone here know who we are?"

"We sent out pictures with your code names. JARVIS, assuming Tony and I might mess up and call you by your real names, also claimed that your real names were fake. The NDA that everyone signs makes it that if they slip up even once, we have every right to fire them and depending on what they say, throw them in jail. We did explain that the NDA was not only for Avengers safety but also for their own," Pepper explained. Clint nodded, not confused by what she said and pleased to know how tightly Pepper and Tony were watching over their employees. He had been concerned about the employees knowing who he was. It was a bit distressing finding out from Tony that mostly all the employees knew of the Avengers. Then again, it's kind of hard keeping it a secret that Stark Tower is now Avengers HQ. "Do you mind if SI knows about your age?"

"Nah. I could care less. Honestly, I was just bored. JARVIS said I caught up on the movies I missed... TV was full of boring soaps. Tony kicked me out of his lab and it's pointless to train while six years old," Clint pointed out. Pepper looked to the toy bow in Clint's hand. She could tell it wasn't the one she had bought him which meant that Tony had made him a new one. That caused her to smile, thinking about how good the genius would be as a father.

"So you decided to attack SI employees with suction cup arrows?"

"Only you and certain people who visited your office, but you've been alone for a while, so I attacked Ella," Clint said as he plopped down into one of the free seats in front of her desk. Pepper frowned. It was true that she had been alone most of the morning. Not something that she was used to. But Clint had to have something better to do.

"Why not read a book? Play a video game?"

"No good books and games are too easy. Sides, I would be doing the same thing on the Helicarrier. I don't do bored well," Clint admitted. Pepper sighed. She was used to Tony always having something to do. And if he didn't, it was easy to suggest something. Natasha had given Pepper a list of stuff for Clint to do but most of it involved his adult body. "Coulson normally has some good ideas. I could go see him, but I need a ride to HQ."

Pepper stopped what she was doing and looked at Clint. For a moment she wasn't sure what to say. Clint didn't even seem to notice his mistake. Instead, he was looking at her like he was praying she'd give him a ride. Swallowing some built up saliva, Pepper nervously opened her mouth.

"Clint, don't you remember what happened to Coulson?" Clint's eyes darkened. All he could think was that this woman was about to play some cruel prank on him. And if it was Tony's idea then the genius was going to learn that it was best not to mess with this little archer.

"What do you mean? Is he okay?" Pepper almost cried. Tears were rather quick to form in her eyes as she realized that Clint was serious. He had no memory of what happened.

"Clint, Coulson is dead," Pepper informed him. Clint stared at her for a moment. His mind clearly had fixed himself into remembering his handler as still being alive. How Coulson could still be alive and Clint knew about current situations, Pepper wouldn't understand. But something was wrong. Choking back a sob, the CEO stood. "We need to go talk to Tony."

* * *

**This chapter was 4308 words long.**

**Now, everyone will note that I killed Coulson again even though we all know he is alive. Yes, I know. But the Avengers don't know he's alive (at least in my story). And that's what I am sticking with. I may have him come back up later, I may not. You'll also note, I still have S.H.I.E.L.D, so HYDRA hasn't attacked yet. So this is long before even that. Give it time. Who knows what might happen. Heck, I ain't done writing it so I don't even know what's gonna happen, lol.**

**For all those who keep up with Baby Clint, he is doing wonderful. Beginning to jabber now. Not really full words or anything but trying out different sounds and such. It's cute. He's proving to be a boy. We keep picking him up every now and then and finding a random bruise or cut and having no idea where it came from. And when we ask him he just smiles and laughs at us like he has no idea either.**

**So, I just got some terrible new today (meaning the exact day I post this). Minutes before signing on to fanfiction, my husband went down to our basement to feed our Flemish Giant bunny rabbit we named Bunbun only to find that sometime between last night and that moment, the poor thing had passed away. Bunbun had been suffering from a disease that made it hard for him to use his back legs properly. We were getting treatment for him that seemed to be working well and everything was looking promising. Apparently, sometime during his last few hours he was behind his litter box getting water, turned to jump into his litter box but didn't make it. His front end went left and his back end went right and his back must have snapped. We believe that is how he passed but we are unsure. So please, if I could get some loving support from my many readers, I would be ever so grateful as I feel completely awful right now.**

**In the mean time... Chapter 7 Responses:**

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**Reviews Responses:**

_Niom Lambiose _\- I'm glad you liked it. Tee hee, murder Stark. Would be fun but no, wouldn't be good to lose such a fun Avenger. Besides, Tony is my second favorite Avenger.

_sammygirl1963_ \- Baby Clint actually never really enjoyed his first time watching Little Mermaid but when I began singing _Part of Your World_ to him when trying to get him to nap, he started to like it. So that's what inspired Clint actually falling asleep to a Disney film. Course now we can't stop Disney Junior or Disney films or even Disney music from not being played 24/7 thanks to Baby Clint but hey, I'm a Mousejunkie so, it works. Lol. Glad you loved the imagery of Clint falling asleep on the couch and JARVIS turning down the lights. I always got that image in my head for Tony as well but it worked here for Clint.

_pottyandweezlbe89 _\- Yup, 'awe' moment. lol. I actually got the starving scene point of view from my therapist. I suffer from major depression so I tend to overeat foods a lot and so I asked her what it would be like from the other end of the spectrum. Also, as a little girl, a school project of mine was to speak to my grandparents about what it was like to live in the 'old days'. I was actually lucky enough to have my great grandparents alive at the time so I asked them about the Great Depression and so I heard what life was actually like during Steve's life from two actual survivors. It was really interesting to learn about. Life experiences is really the best way to learn how to write and most times it may not even have to be your life experiences but what you heard from someone else.

_MO-5431 _\- Someone responsible, in Stark/Avengers tower? Wow, what universe do you read? lol, JK. You're very welcome for the entertainment. I'm glad I can provide. It means a lot to me that so many people actually enjoy reading what I produce.

_5mairer _\- You have no idea how awesome that made me feel when I first read this review. Never mind right now while I'm actually responding to it considering the bad news I just got. Thanks so much. I hope it continues to be your favorite story.


	9. Chapter 9

Clint's memory loss was worse than Pepper had originally feared. He had memories of every Avenger as individuals and of the initiative itself, but not that it had happened. To him, Manhattan hadn't even been attacked. The S.H.I.E.L.D bunker that had been destroyed was still active. Last thing the archer could remember was Coulson getting a call saying that Captain America was found, alive. While both Pepper and Tony were thankful that Clint couldn't remember Loki's control over him, they were both rather terrified of what was going on and what could happen to the boy next.

"So... Captain America leads the... Team?" Clint asked, beginning to understand that Tony was not pulling a prank and this wasn't a mission gone wrong. Now, he was re-asking questions in an effort to wrap his mind around the idea that this was actually happening. That he, in fact may actually be in danger. Tony nodded. He had been going through as much as he could to try and recall Clint's memory but nothing seemed to be helping. Once he lost the memory, it was like it never happened to him. Pepper stood off to the side, just watching and putting her two cents in when she thought it was needed. But mostly, she wondering what would happen. What would Clint do when he forgets her and Tony? Or S.H.I.E.L.D? How much worse could this get? "And Dr. Banner was approved for the team?"

"Yup," Tony replied, unsure what else to say. Clint frowned. Fury had told him once that Banner had been considered but was too volatile for team missions. The scary thing was Tony had had some video files that showed the Avengers fighting together. Clint briefly figured that most of it could be faked. But then Tony began showing the team working together. Images like Hulk tossing Black Widow into an attacker, Clint and Captain America fighting back to back and Mjolnir flying by Clint's perch and the Iron Man catching the archer when he fell from a building. Things that Clint knew never happened. Never would have happened unless Tony was telling the truth. Tony jerked forward when Clint shook his head. "You okay?"

"Can I say no?" Clint muttered. He was surprised when Tony nodded his consent. For some reason the boy figured that Tony would have said no. Clint sighed and looked to the floor. There was no way that he wanted to see the genius's reaction to this. "Then no."

"What's bothering you the most?" Pepper gently inquired after a minute of silence. Clint glanced at her quickly before focusing on the floor. He could tell that they were worried about him. Were worried about what was happening. If what they said was indeed true, and Clint was beginning to believe it, then they were worried about losing their friend. Slowly, he shrugged. He almost wished he had a better answer for them. For his friends, but he didn't. This was a lot to take in and especially believe in.

"Take your pick," Clint suggested. Pepper nodded, having assumed as much. It was a lot to take on. Clint shook his head again, beginning to go a little pale. "This is... It's too much."

"I'm sorry," Tony mumbled. He leaned forward in his chair to place a hand on Clint's small knee. "I'm still working on trying to fix this. But I need Bruce. It was his serum."

Clint nodded, taking the admittance of Tony's mess up with ease. It had already been determined that Clint had no memory of how he had been turned into a kid. Pepper had already known the truth and just watched the boy, wondering what he was going to do. Tony sighed deeply. He needed to fix this.

"And Bruce is... Missing?" Clint wondered aloud as he yet again shook his head. Tony frowned before glancing at Pepper. She looked just as worried. Slowly, she moved to stand next to Clint.

"Clint?" Pepper pressed, ignoring his own questioned. The ex-archer shook his head again. Pepper placed a hand on Clint's shoulder. He jerked at the touch which made the CEO glance down at Tony's hand. There had been no reaction then. "Are you okay?"

Clint gently shook his head but this time began to regret it. Right away he began to feel dizzy and nauseous. Something was strange. Not wrong, just weird. Unbeknownst to him, Clint began swaying. Pepper called out to him again. This time there was no reply at all. Worried, she traded a look with the genius before calling out louder and gently shaking Clint's shoulder. Clint turned her head to face her but before his eyes could focus on her, they rolled and he dropped to the ground.

"Oh my god!" Pepper screamed. Tony jumped to his feet as Clint began kicking out and pushing things away with flailing limbs.

"JARVIS!" Tony shouted as Pepper and him backed away from Clint's rapidly moving form.

"They are coming, sir!" JARVIS quickly intoned. Pepper jerked to look at Clint in shock.

"Who's they?"

"The doctors I began staffing after that hospital trip!" Tony answered. Thankfully, Bruce had long ago requested a 'Medical' floor for whenever the Avengers get injured. It was great to have them brought back to the Tower rather than waiting wherever they needed to be. With Bruce being able to watch over the others while they recover, it was nice for the S.H.I.E.L.D doctors to agree to let the Avengers rest at the Tower. Especially Barton. Since that area was set up, Tony was easily then able to staff it full of highly capable employees.

It didn't take long for the doctors to show up and push Pepper and Tony even further away. Tony didn't even argue as the doctors began kicking away tables and chairs and other work related objects that had surrounded the boy in their effort to reach him. All he did was watch. Knowing that Clint was in their capable hands, they easily backed off. Then Pepper looked at Tony. Her gaze was worried and terrified as she spoke to the genius.

"What are we going to do?"

* * *

Clint ended up having a grand mal seizer. He spent the rest of the day, and into the night, unconscious. The doctors, that Tony had hired, believed that the archer's attack was more than likely stress induced. Tony and JARVIS had given them all their knowledge on Clint's condition and they used that to come up with this answer. They believed that what had happened may have weakened his system enough that when they mentioned his failing memory, Clint basically stressed his body to a breaking point.

"I would suggest not talking about his memory loss," one of the various doctors suggested. Tony frowned. He had planned on checking Clint's memory almost every hour just so he could track the rate of deterioration. Maybe the memory loss would help the genius fix the archer. But if the seizer happened every time he tried, it might not be for the best. "I understand you need to keep track of it, but we don't know what else could happen. You wouldn't want him to have a stress induced heart attack."

"So, I have to skip around his memory loss without knowing what he may have forgotten? That's ridiculous!" Tony shouted at the doctor. The others moved away from the one who had spoken. They knew better than to question Tony Stark. The first doctor shrugged, not really caring that he was speaking to Tony Stark, aka Iron Man.

"I'm sorry, but like you, we don't know what this did to him. For all we know, that serum could kill him in the next few minutes," the doctor explained. Tony almost snapped but stopped when the doctor raised his hands in defense. "I'm not trying to be the bad guy here. We are all in uncharted territory. The less we put on his system, the better. His mind will cover what he's missing. And when it doesn't, he'll ask."

"But what if he doesn't ask?"

* * *

Clint woke an hour later with no memory past finding out about Coulson. The doctors allowed Tony to briefly explain about Loki and Manhattan but no one freely mentioned the archer's involvement. They explained about his seizer and how they wanted to watch him overnight. In the end, they got four more hours before Clint escaped their care. At first, the docs worried, but after JARVIS said the archer was in the living room and that he was monitoring the boy, they relented. Never mind the fact that Tony mentioned, Clint had a penchant for avoiding doctors.

Two days later, Clint was fine. He made no mention of his failing memory, nor did he seem too concerned with staying in the Tower rather than the Helicarrier. JARVIS kept track of Clint and Tony slipped into the boy's room while he was gone to add tracers to each piece of clothing the boy owned. The genius figured that Clint might check for tracers sooner or later, but if each article was covered, he could only hope that Clint would miss one. JARVIS monitored each piece every morning and told Tony if one went offline so the genius could fix it.

JARVIS was Clint's main interaction for the next week. Tony spent his days sneaking around with the tracers and working in the lab. Pepper worked hard at SI, trying to cover everything. Never mind that she was just starting to see reports about Clint being Tony's illegitimate son. Clint didn't seem to mind being alone. Actually, JARVIS noted that it seemed normal for the boy to be alone. At times, the archer asked for people JARVIS didn't know. But JARVIS and he had established a reminder each morning.

"Good Morning Clint Barton. My name is JARVIS. I am the artificial intelligence for Stark Towers. You have been invited to live here with Tony Stark and Pepper Potts. There are others who live here as well but as they currently are not here, it is not a concern of yours at the moment. If you wish to know about them, feel free to ask. Mr. Stark is currently in his labs trying to find your brother and Miss Potts is at work," JARVIS intoned as he had every morning since Clint's seizer. A lot of the information that JARVIS stated was something that Clint knew, but he wanted to AI to keep saying the same thing as they never knew what he'd lose. If JARVIS mentioned Barney early, then oh well. But at least most of Clint's main questions would be answered.

"Thanks JARVIS," Clint muttered as he rolled out of his bed. It had seemed like it had only been a few days since JARVIS had started telling him the same thing every time he woke. Already he was getting used to it and trying to think of new things to say. Originally it had just been JARVIS explaining who he was and where they were. Then it extended. Tony and Pepper were notable names, he had heard them in his past, so he wasn't concerned with forgetting them. He was concerned that he'd try to run. Each day, Clint could feel that feeling grow stronger and stronger. His past was catching up with him.

"Breakfast is waiting for you upstairs. I have made pancakes, waffles, eggs and toast. Apple juice and milk are waiting in the fridge," JARVIS added. Clint smiled, glad that the AI was going through each step he had asked. The more JARVIS explained, the better Clint would be able to keep himself around. Especially the more safe the place seemed. With Tony constantly busy in the labs and Pepper now always at SI, Clint was usually left to his own devices. Something his past was very much used to and it seemed to settle him more as he lost more and more of his memory. JARVIS was the only abnormal interaction he was currently getting.

"Thanks," Clint replied as he got up and began getting dressed. He had post it notes marking where everything was in his room so that he would remember. Not that he had forgotten any of that so far. In the other room, his TV started with a video that explained most of what he had forgotten and a lot that he would forget. JARVIS had to hack into S.H.I.E.L.D to get some of the video, but at least Clint would be able to center himself. No one but JARVIS and he knew that this was their routine. "I want to do something different."

"Like what, Clint Barton?" JARVIS asked. Clint shrugged. He glanced at the video, showing him asking Coulson to go to a movie. A smile crossed his face.

"A movie. What is in theaters?"

* * *

An hour later, Clint was bothering Tony in the lab.

"No," Tony growled for the fifth time. Clint pouted, acting more his body age than normal. What Clint didn't know was that JARVIS reported to Tony every hour. Any time that Clint asked for help, or forgot something on the video, JARVIS would mention it. Tony had learned that in the past two days, Clint had regressed far enough to just about forget S.H.I.E.L.D. Sometimes it came and went but a lot of it, just went and never came back. More seemed like a dream.

"Come on! I can't go by myself," Clint whined. Tony shook his head. He was still busy trying to find Bruce. Every day that passed, Tony and Steve began to lose hope. Tony even had to force himself to demand that Fury send Natasha out to find more evidence. But Fury claimed that Natasha was on a very important mission. One that was bigger than Bruce.

"Go to my theater room," Tony begged when Clint began to try dragging him away from his work. Clint shook his head in a distraught nature. Tony yanked his hand away from the boy, making Clint stumble back. The genius winced, realizing that the archer would never have stumbled if he hadn't have lost his memory from S.H.I.E.L.D, if Tony hadn't accidently used that damned serum...

"You don't have this movie, I checked," Clint moaned as he grabbed at Tony's hand again. Tony shook his head and waved his other hand at the boy.

"Ask JARVIS to download it," Tony suggested, making the boy release him as he turned back to the computer. Clint frowned and backed away. He didn't want to bother Tony too much. But JARVIS had told the boy that Tony needed a break and would easily relent to going to see a movie. Clint glanced toward the ceiling, wondering if maybe the AI was lying.

"He can't, I asked."

"Then go yourself," Tony snapped, done with the conversation. Clint flinch away from the genius in shock. Surprised at the outburst, the boy slunk away. Sending an angered glare up at the ceiling, Clint left the lab and headed for the elevator. A few minutes later, Tony realized that it had gotten silent. He turned around and noticed that Clint wasn't in the lab with him. "Clint? Clint!"

The genius jumped to his feet and began searching for the boy. He jumped into the elevator and made it race to the communal living room. No Clint. He checked the kitchen. No Clint. Clint's bedroom. No Clint. The theater room. No. The game room. No. It seemed that no matter where the billionaire went, there was no Clint.

"JARVIS!" Tony desperately cried to his AI.

"Clint Barton left almost fifteen minutes ago. Currently the tracers on his clothing indicated he is at the nearest theater entrance," JARVIS informed his creator. Tony cursed as he rushed back to the elevator. "Sir, Clint Barton requested to go to a rated R film. I am unsure what protocols will be enacted to prevent him."

"Pepper's gonna kill me!" Tony whined.

* * *

Tony arrived at the theater just in time to see Clint being placed in a police car. Clint fought with all his might to stop the men trying to force him in. It showed one of the men who was currently nursing a bloody nose. The second the boy spotted the genius, he ducked down and hide inside the car. Surprised at his change in attitude, the other officer looked to see what the boy had seen.

"Mr. Stark," the officer called when he spotted the billionaire.

"What happened here?" Tony asked, trying to sound like just a curious bystander. The officer looked shocked at the genius's question. He glanced back at Clint before focusing on Tony again.

"This boy tried to see a movie without an adult. When asked about his parents, he mentioned they died but that... Well, that he was staying with you, sir," the officer recalled. Tony nodded and looked to Clint. The boy, who had perked up to stare at Tony, ducked down again in the seat as if he was getting berated himself.

"He has been," Tony confirmed. The officer looked even more stunned then before. Tony sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. "I've been watching over him. I told him to get tickets and I'd catch up to him."

"Ah... Well, he made no mention of that," the officer stated. Tony smirked and shrugged. His eyes rolled a little as he looked back over at Clint, who again had tried to look at Tony and once saw that Tony was looking, ducked back down.

"Kids," he tried to joke. The officer frowned and glanced back to Clint as well. With a deep sigh, he turned back to Tony. Right away the genius could tell that he wasn't going to get off easy. He almost winced but years of being a public figure was able to stop him.

"I have to bring him down to the station for an hour or two cause of..." the officer trailed off and pointed to his partner who was pitifully trying to stop the bleeding by using napkins from his Starbucks trip earlier that day. Tony frowned but nodded. "Will you meet us there, or would you like a ride?"

"Uh... I'll meet you there," Tony muttered, shuddering at the idea of the press's 'field day' at Tony Stark getting a police ride 'down town'. The officer nodded and Tony waited only a minute to watch as the officers got into their car and began to drive off. Clint turned in the car and pitifully looked back at Tony, tears forming in his eyes as he believed the billionaire was getting rid of him. Tony sighed deeply and rubbed his face. "Now, I want to kill me."

Tony reached the police station only a few minutes after Clint had been brought in. The boy was still handcuffed to a chair by the officer's desk (the same officer Tony had dealt with at the theater). Upon seeing Tony come in, Clint brightened for a moment before he realized what the situation looked like. Then he ducked down as low as he could go. The officer noticed this and glanced over at the entrance to see the billionaire. Needlessly, he waved. Tony nodded and headed over.

"So, as I mentioned, we may need to keep him for a bit," the officer said to Tony in greeting. Tony nodded. Clint said nothing. He just stared at the floor. "My partner isn't pressing charges."

"Okay. Thanks," Tony muttered. The officer nodded but slid a pad of paper over toward the genius. It took Tony a bit longer than he would have liked to admit that the officer wanted his signature as a bribe to not press charges. Growling at the implication, Tony snatched a pen and quickly scrawled his name on the pad. The officer nodded his thanks before taking the pad back.

"Now, I assume he's adopted?" Tony froze. He had no proof that Clint was with him. Clint jerked his head up in surprise. He didn't know that Tony was his father.

"Uh. Not really," Tony mumbled, humiliated. The officer frowned. "We... Uh, we haven't fully signed the papers yet."

"Ah... Who is your case worker?"

"Case worker?" Tony questioned in shock. The officer glanced at him.

"The person in charge of this adoption?" No reaction. "The person who inspects to make sure everything is going good and you are all adjusting?" Again, nothing. "No one has come to see you about adopting him or seeing if your place is a suitable environment?"

"No," Tony moaned. The officer's frown deepened. This was becoming a bigger issue. Tony again almost winced. Instead he focused on Clint and gave him a look that basically warned him to 'sit there and be silent or you're in deeper shit'. Clint focused back on the floor.

"What is his name?"

"Clint," Clint replied, looking up at the officer before Tony could speak. Tony almost groaned. "Clinton Francis Barton."

"Thanks," the officer grumbled before typing the name in the system. He was rather surprised to actually find a boy by the same name already in the system. But that boy had gone missing at almost ten years old and would now be around 30. Glancing at the six year old beside him, he frowned. "Named after your father?"

"No... My father is Harold," Clint sniped. The officer looked back at the report. Indeed, this boy had a father named Harold. Shrugging it off as a coincidence, the officer sighed deeply. Typing in a request to the orphanage that Clint had long ago left, the officer mentioned that Clint was trying to be adopted by Tony Stark and no one from OCFS (Office of Children and Family Services) had been in to check on the family.

"So, is that everything?" Tony wondered aloud. The officer finished typing his report before looking back at the two. Right away Tony could tell he shouldn't have asked but then again, he was Tony Stark. He had a reputation to uphold and sitting there waiting, was totally not upholding it.

"OCFS will explain some things to you two and will basically take over from here. But, I need to speak to Clint alone," the officer told Tony. Frowning, Tony nodded and stood up. He looked back at Clint but the boy refused to look at him. Sighing, Tony walked away. "Is it true that Mr. Stark told you to get tickets for the two of you?"

"JARVIS said so," Clint whispered, not looking at the officer. The officer frowned as he tried to figure out how JARVIS fit into this situation. Clint sighed when he realized that most people might not know who the AI was. "JARVIS is an artificial intelligence that runs Stark Towers."

"Okay. And who takes care of you at Stark Towers?"

"Mostly JARVIS," the boy admitted, his memory of the other weeks were Tony and Pepper had taken care of him lost to the tapes that JARVIS played. Clint only could watch them and even then, it just never felt real. Just like he was watching a recording or a fake video.

"Uh un. And, do you feel safe there?" Clint frowned at the officer before nodding. He hadn't felt safe in most other places but there didn't seem to be a problem at the towers. "Do you want to go back with Mr. Stark?" Clint looked over at the billionaire. He looked tense. Almost afraid of what was going to happen. But the boy remembered what JARVIS told him. Tony Stark was his friend. Slowly, he nodded. "Okay, I'm going to let you go home with Mr. Stark. But... Call me, if there is any more problems, okay?"

"O... Okay," Clint muttered as he took the card that the officer began handing him. As gently as he could, the officer un-cuffed the boy. Slowly, Clint slid off the chair and began to slink over toward Tony. The officer watched and when Clint got to Tony's side, Tony reached to grip the boy's shoulder but stopped when Clint winced. Sighing, Tony gently let his hand hover behind Clint as he led the boy out of the station. The officer's partner turned to him.

"Think that was a mistake?"

"It's Tony Stark. Why would he be abusing the boy?" The officer replied before turning back to the report of the Clint Barton that would be about 30 now. He frowned. Could he have gotten this whole thing wrong?

* * *

**Finally getting to the good parts. OCFS, new and dangerous folks. Tee hee. BTW, 4094 words this chapter.**

**For those keeping up to date, Baby Clint is doing good. Getting some more attitude lately, signing and babbling a lot more. Having fun doing things that used to freak him out or scare him. Loves playing in the sand and dirt and is constantly demanding to be outside. Thankfully it has always been good weather.**

**Review Responses:**

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**Followers: ** MarnieWest, Maddyj74, devilburns, cat-pancake-13

**Reviews Responses:**

_Niom Lambiose _\- Thank you!

_sammygirl1963_ \- I always love reading stories were he hides in vents and so I wanted him to play in the vents as a kid and then I went out and got the Hawkeye bow toy and trying to shoot straight with it was really hard so that gave me the idea for this chapter. Then I had the idea that Clint would show it to Tony and he'd be all like 'I could so do better toys than that' and so he'd go and build toy weapons and such. I'm sorry to hear about the loss of your own pet dog. It's always hard to lose a fur baby no matter how long they stay with us.

_pottyandweezlbe89 _\- When I first wrote the forgetting Coulson moment, I thought OMG, my readers are gonna _KILL ME_ and then I thought, 'I'm gonna KILL ME! But then as I fleshed it out some more I realized how well it worked out and now that Age of Ultron is out and everything, it works. I love updating everyone on Baby Clint and it's so fun now as I retype this and see how much his old interactions inspired this story and even now seeing how much he sometimes acts like the Clint that I'm writing. God, there are some times that I just wish that I could record a day in Baby Clint's life and just narrate it like this story cause there are a lot of days that I could just see it fitting so well. If only my husband and I acted more like Tony and Pepper, lol.

_MO-5431 _\- Well I guess sometimes responsibility goes out the window when you have a 30 year old mind set stuck in the body of a six year old body. Actually, to be honest, I meant to have Pepper do a freak out over the beer bottle but for some reason skipped over it once I got her in the room. I guess cause I wrote the cute scene with Clint being asleep instead. While I haven't mentioned it in any chapters, Clint hasn't had any beer since that one incident. JARVIS even decided to let it slid just that once. Thanks for the condolences. Glad you are entertained and hope you stay that way.

_ThePenguinApocalyse _\- Tee Hee, glad you love it. Thanks for the condolences.


	10. Chapter 10

Tony said nothing as he drove the two of them back to Stark Towers. He had no idea what to say about the whole situation. His mind was focused on Clint's lost memories. Was Clint stuck in the past? Could the boy have forgotten everything? Was this actually an attempt at running away or was it really just a misunderstanding?

JARVIS made sure to tell Pepper about what happened and she had sent a text to Tony saying that she was dealing with it as fast as she could. The CEO was used to many possible situations like this. Tony actually had no idea how many times there had been moments were random strangers had gone to the press claiming to be related to Tony. Or other such insane stories. Covering something like this couldn't be hard? There was no way they could allow OCFS to get a hold of Clint.

Speaking of, the boy just sat in the passenger seat, focused on the floor. He said nothing about what had happened and what was going to happen. Nor did he want to talk about it. Clint had no mention of what was going on in his head. Gave no indication as to how much of his memories had been lost (not that Tony would be able to place it easily). Tony looked at the boy for a brief second before sighing. He had no idea how to start this much needed conversation.

A few minutes later, Tony pulled into the garage of Stark Towers. Pepper had already sent a second text, explaining that she'd be a while and wouldn't greet them. And with no one else in the tower, Tony and Clint just sat there in the car. Tony cut off the engine but still sat there, gripping the wheel as he wondered what he could say. Clint didn't look up. He kept staring at the floor, lost in his thoughts. They were like that for another five minutes before Clint looked over at Tony.

"Are you going to send me back?" Clint softly asked. Tony jerked his head over to look at Clint dumbfounded.

"What? No! Hell, no!" Tony called, believing that Clint was talking about the police department. Clint looked back to the floor. "What makes you think I would?"

"Anyone else would," Clint muttered. Tony frowned deeply before fully turning to face Clint. "I've been sent away from a couple of different homes already. I never stay for more than a week. I'm usually... 'Too much to handle.'"

Tony's eyes widened as he realized what was going on. Clint had fully regressed back to six years old. The boy had lost everything. Tony had secretly been having JARVIS relaying everything to him that Clint did. All the recordings that the duo had set up, everything that Clint asked repeated, or whatever. But something about this situation had made Clint rapidly go from basically just recruiting Natasha into S.H.I.E.L.D, all the way back. Tony shook his head and placed a hand on Clint's shoulder to make the boy look at him.

"I will never get rid of you. I will never send you away. An anyone who thinks they should, are stupid, evil people," Tony reprimanded Clint. The boy winced at the genius's tone. Tony moved his hand to pull the boy into a hug but paused and watched as Clint winced again. He frowned before remembering that Clint was getting closer to ages that he had been beaten at. Of course a stranger's hand coming toward him would make him frightened. "Clint, you never need to worry about something like that from me."

"I... I know... I mean... Well, JARVIS tells me that we're friends but... I... Just yesterday, I was in Georgia... I... I don't remember coming here," Clint whined, looking away from the genius. Tony sighed deeply. Things were getting too complicated for him.

"Look, I know things must be really confusing for you..." Tony began but Clint looked up at him.

"What are the Avengers?" he asked, clear as day. Tony paused, unsure how to respond. Last he knew, he still couldn't mention anything without risking a seizure. But JARVIS had sometimes mentioned things and nothing happened. Heck, Clint had even sometimes found things from his other life. "Why do I have a picture of a guy that looks like me, in an outfit I dreamed up just last night, wrapping my arms around your shoulders? And why is Captain America in that picture, didn't he die in the 40s?"

"Uh... Well," Tony stuttered. How could Clint remember these sort of things but not everything else? What was going on? This memory loss thing was really strange. Tony so wished he could test it but doing experiments on Clint could be very dangerous. In fact, this whole conversation was very dangerous. Tony shifted in his seat. Clint frowned, noticing that the genius was looking for a way out.

"Am... Am I actually 30?" Clint questioned. Tony stared at him for a bit before finally nodding. Clint frowned. "What happened?"

"There... There was an accident. You... Somehow a serum that one of our friends was working on got injected into you. You then turned into a six year old. At first, you still had all your memories but... You began to forget everything and switch back to when you were six," Tony explained. Clint nodded. "I've been trying to fix this. That's why I've been in the lab so much. But... I need our friend's help and... Well, he got kidnapped a while back and we can't find him. In fact... I think Steve might be coming back soon."

"Captain America? Really?" Clint called. Tony nodded. "Does he know?"

"Uh... No... I haven't really told any of our friends outside of Pepper," Tony admitted with a bit of a dark chuckle. Clint frowned and gave the genius a disbelieving look. Tony shrugged.

"Is that a good idea?"

"I... I don't know."

* * *

Pepper arrived back into the tower later that night looking very hassled. She had spent all afternoon trying to fix what had happened. Reporters, OCFS, S.H.I.E.L.D, fans and so many more people seemed to think it was their problem that Tony had 'adopted' someone. Some of the people, she gave more credit too. But the issue with OCFS and S.H.I.E.L.D were defiantly her top priority.

Thankfully, Fury was willing to drop the subject after telling Pepper (to tell Tony) that if Bruce was never returned, then Clint was never going to get fixed so the genius better get on the case of finding Bruce. That meant that Fury redirected Steve's quinjet to land at the Helicarrier rather than Stark Tower. Steve not learning about Clint's condition meant that the leader would be focused only on the one missing member of the Avengers and not the other 'kid' Avenger as well. One less issue for Tony to worry about, at the moment.

But OCFS was another matter entirely. They wouldn't just accept what she said, especially considering the old files they had on Clint. The matter wouldn't be dropped easily with them. OCFS demanded to see Clint personally, review Tony, check out the tower, and other things. Everything that couldn't be done over the phone. Also, Fury couldn't even step in and help mediate it. Pepper did try.

"Tony, I can't make this go away," Pepper whined to her boyfriend after she determined that Clint was asleep and that they could talk in the kitchen. Tony frowned.

"I'm not asking you too. I mean, how hard can it be to just adopt him?" Tony wondered. Pepper sighed.

"Apparently, really hard. Made worse by the fact that this is Avengers head quarters," Pepper moaned. Tony scoffed.

"You'd think people would think he's safer here," he muttered. Pepper sighed.

"OCFS is terrified of Bruce. Never mind that they claim that Thor's physiology could be a danger to Clint. And they also seem to believe that we'd allow him in the lab while you're testing dangerous things. Like the Iron Man armor," Pepper claimed. Tony lightly laughed as he remembered the many times that Clint had come down to the lab to talk to him in the past few weeks. There was no way he was going to mention that and he'd also make sure that JARVIS wouldn't mention it to OCFS either. "They need to make sure this is a safe place. And considering how many weapons Natasha and Clint were supposed to have hidden everywhere, I'm not so sure that it is."

"Oh, come on! He knows better than to play with guns!" Tony claimed. Pepper leveled a harden gaze on the genius. Tony blanched as he realized who they were talking about. Clint did learn how to use knives and a bow and arrow at a circus at the age of ten. If he had aged four years older, he'd be using the training ranges already. OCFS would love that. "Well... I think he does. Sides, JARVIS would let us know!"

"Before or after Clint shoots himself? Not that I'm discrediting JARVIS, but we have to be serious," Pepper stated. "These people have the power and ability to take Clint away if it is deemed a danger to his health to stay here."

"He's not in danger! We're the safest place for him!" Tony snapped.

"Tony, on one of the first days that Clint was de-aged I found an empty beer bottle in the living room!" Pepper cried. Tony frowned. Since Clint had turned six, he hadn't actually been drinking. He'd been staying sober so he could study. Pepper placed her hands on her hips. "It was Clint favorite beer. JARVIS even stated that he watched Clint drink it and didn't stop him. Heck, I even cleaned it up and didn't say anything!"

"Well... We didn't think," Tony mumbled.

"Exactly, we didn't think. Clint looks six years old to the rest of the world now. We have to act like that all the time now," Pepper told the genius. Tony winced.

"Actually, about that. He lost all his memories now." Pepper groaned and walked away. Tony sighed. "Look, I swear, we can be good parents for Clint. We can do this. OCFS will have nothing on us. We can be resonsible."

"But Tony, we have to prove it. We have to prove that we'd be good parents," she told him. Tony opened his mouth to speak but she halted him. "We have to be here for him. He needs to be educated, feed, loved."

"We can do that," Tony tried to claim. Pepper frowned.

"JARVIS, in the past week, how long have Tony and I been in Clint's presence?" Pepper asked the AI. Tony frowned, understanding what his girlfriend was getting at. They needed to be there for him. He was a kid now, not a 30 year old who just looked like a kid. Clint needed attention and human interaction.

"A total of two and a half hours," JARVIS mentioned. Tony groaned and leaned against the kitchen island. He had no idea what to say to that. There was no argument to be made for OCFS. How do you explain that he was in the lab trying to cure the six year old of being a six year old? Would they even believe Tony? Pepper sighed before moving to pull Tony into a hug. Tony hugged her back.

"Starting right now, we have to be around Clint at all times," Pepper stated, backing away. Tony looked at her. She had tears in her eyes. He sighed deeply. In these few weeks, dealing with Clint, they have all grown really close. Pepper most of all. So this situation was just very painful and dangerous. Tony gave her a soft smile as he brushed away some fallen tears drops. "S.H.I.E.L.D knows and is working on finding Bruce. Fury said he'd call if they got any news. For now, we need to make sure Clint doesn't get taken away."

"I'll be on my best behavior," Tony promised.

"That's kind of what I'm afraid of," Pepper laughed lightly.

* * *

For the next two days, Tony and Pepper don't leave Clint's side unless he is in the bathroom or going to bed. At first, Clint seemed bothered by their sudden need to 'smother' him but after a while, he got used to it. Things seemed to go to normal rather quickly. They never mentioned that anything was going to be different or that anything was changing. It was just that they were there.

Pepper loved to cook for Clint. Sometimes it wasn't the best, but the boy dealt with her good intentions. Not many people tended to try and do things like that for him. It was nice. Besides, even when the food was bad, it never did end up getting him sick or anything. Clint actually did really like it.

Tony loved getting Clint sucked into pranks on poor Pepper, but thankfully she took it in good stride. A lot of them involved using JARVIS. Most of the pranks were small harmless things like changing the channel on the TV or turning up the volume, moving her tablet, hiding her phone... Things like that. Sometimes it was bigger things like changing the shampoo in the shower with body soap, or switching her favorite yogurt smoothie with mayo. The biggest thing they did was making JARVIS not respond to her at all for two hours. But that stopped once Pepper almost missed an important call from Fury.

But mostly, the duo talked with the boy. They encouraged Clint to try new things and do whatever he wanted. He actually enjoyed the freedom. At the end of the second day, Tony's attitude changed after a private phone call that he took in his lab. The genius mentioned to Pepper that someone was coming over the next day, but Clint wasn't paying close attention as Pepper had just bought a game system earlier that day. That night, Clint went to bed waiting for the next day hoping for it to be just as good as this day.

"Good morning Clint Barton. My name is JARVIS. I am the artificial intelligence unit that works throughout all of Stark Towers. You have been living here for some time now with Mr. Tony Stark and Miss. Pepper Potts. They have been caring for you and wish to adopt you. Your brother Barney is currently missing and we are working hard to ascertain his whereabouts. Currently, Mr. Stark and Miss. Potts are upstairs in the communal kitchen with a guest. There is a short movie about to start on the TV in your living room, if you would please watch that before heading upstairs, it would be most welcomed," JARVIS intoned as normal the second Clint woke. He smiled. For the past two days, his memory hasn't failed him on what had been going on here at Stark Towers. He remembered getting caught by the police (but not why) and most of what happened after. So, he didn't really need to watch the video.

"Thanks JARVIS, but I think I'm good today," the boy replied, remembering speaking with JARVIS about why he always greeted the boy in such fashion. JARVIS hummed a noncommittal answer as Clint began dressing himself for the day. Having known about Tony's 'joke outfits' in his closet, Clint headed over there. For some reason he felt the need to wear one of those outfits today. Smiling, he saw the red and gold outfit that looked similar to a mechanical suit that Tony had in his lab. Without another thought, Clint dressed himself in that and headed upstairs. Briefly he caught sight of the TV. It was currently playing a video of him as his older self, fighting alongside other Avengers. He smiled. It was great knowing that his future would lead him to be a part of such a great team. For a moment he wished he remembered more of his older life but then figured if he did, he wouldn't need such reminders from JARVIS.

The elevator ride to the communal floor was just a quick and silent as normal. Tony and Pepper were usually nice enough to let him wake on his own and wander down when he felt the need to. Sometimes, if JARVIS gave enough warning, Pepper would have food waiting or Tony would just about be queuing up a movie of some sort. But today, when the elevator opened, Clint could sense the tension without even seeing a single person. Something was different, something he wouldn't like. Remembering JARVIS mentioned that Tony and Pepper were with a guest in the kitchen, Clint slowly headed over that way. As he did, he spotted 'Stevie' sitting on a tabletop. Tony must have brought him up sometime last night or this morning. Needing some comfort, Clint grabbed the stuffed bear before continuing on.

"I understand that you are part of the Avengers and that normally there are many other adults here, but you must know that we have to check on every person. You could be the Dahlia Lama, or Gandhi but we still must make sure this is a good home for the child," an odd sounding female declared. Clint stiffened, hugging the bear tight to his chest. This woman sounded governmental. Already, he didn't like her. Slowly, he peeked around the corner. Tony and Pepper were sitting on one side of the kitchen table, the side that faced toward him. The other side, with her back to him, was the guest. She was a rather plump woman with short dark brown hair. The hair puffed out around her ears, an indication that she wore glasses. Like he thought she might, she wore a business like suit and high, high heels.

"Clint is doing wonderful here. He is a great addition to our home," Pepper kindly stated, placing her hand on Tony's when he went to open his mouth. Clint smiled, wondering how often Tony had put his foot in his mouth already. The boy had quickly learned that while Tony might be a genius, that didn't mean that the billionaire could handle social interactions well. And this seemed like a very important social interaction.

"So it may seem. But, a six year old in this type of home may not be best. In this kitchen alone, I can find fifteen potential dangers to him that have not been taken care of," the woman proudly stated. Clint frowned and glanced around. Stove, knives, oven, non-covered outlets, cabinet doors, table top corners, the island, medicine, cleaning supplies... After that, Clint could only guess. He shuddered. Yeah, he was six years old but that didn't mean he was stupid. He wasn't going to get into things he wasn't supposed to. Especially when Tony and Pepper were so nice to him.

"Clint is smart enough to not get into those things. JARVIS also is always on duty," Tony snapped. Pepper groaned. Clint smirked. Apparently this was an issue that she hadn't wanted mentioned. The other woman snorted.

"This, jarvis, is a computer. Computers cannot be entrusted with a child's safety," the woman said as if she had said this before. Tony clenched his hands together. A sign that Clint had come to know that meant that Tony was getting upset. "A computer cannot tell if a child is going to put itself in harm's way like a person can. Nor can it stop the child if it decides to ignore sound advice."

"Miss Mascioli," Pepper began.

"Please, Karen. Call me, Karen," Karen told her. Pepper nodded.

"Karen, JARVIS is not entrusted to watch over Clint as if he were a babysitter. JARVIS warns us when he notices possibly harmful situations. For example, if Tony were in the bathroom and I was cooking dinner and Clint happened to come into the kitchen and notice a knife in hand's reach, JARVIS may warn me that Clint has arrived and is currently heading toward the knife before I notice him," Pepper explained in a calm manner. Karen nodded but Clint could tell that she didn't believe the CEO.

"Now, I have heard that for the past few days, you both have not left the living part of the tower," Karen loudly noted. Pepper nodded, her eyes widening slightly in surprise. Tony pulled a phone out of his pocket and began fiddling with it in haste. Clint gripped Stevie's arm tightly. Did Karen have a spy somewhere around here? How did she know that? "Is that not going to become an issue for Stark Industries?"

"Stark Industries is just below us and if they need my help, they can call me through JARVIS at any point. I am free to work here as needed for as long as needed," Pepper mentioned, her hands gripping her clothing tightly in anger. Karen looked to Tony. She paused when she noticed that he was messing with his phone. Pepper glanced at the genius and elbowed him when she noticed that he was doing something else. Tony looked up, surprised before noticing that Karen was looking at him with a frown.

"I work mostly in the lab, doing... Sciencey stuff. But I can take as many breaks as I want to. It's my company," Tony grumbled. Karen nodded and wrote something down. "Look, this is ridiculous, Clint is fine here. He's safe, wanted. What more can we do?"

"Listen, Mr. Stark. As I have said numerous times before, we must check on everyone. Every house is examined to make sure it is indeed the best fit for each child. As our records on this particular boy seem to be missing, we must be extra thorough," Karen mentioned. Tony almost snarled but held back and simply nodded. That was when Pepper noticed Clint peeking around the corner.

"Oh, Clint! Good morning! Why don't you come meet our guest?" Pepper softly suggested. Clint nodded as Karen turned around. He looked at her and for a moment he thought her eyes were pitch black but then he noticed that they were actually a dark brown. Slowly he moved closer, tucking Stevie in front of him as a line of defense. Tony snorted at the sight of Clint in the Iron Man outfit holding a Captain America bear also dressed in an Iron Man outfit. Karen stood, paying no mind to the outfit and bear, and moved toward Clint before crouching down to the boy's level. She plastered a fake smile on her face. Clint did the same in return, even as he held tighter onto Stevie for protection. "This is Karen Mascioli from OCFS. She's here to check on all of us."

"Hello, Clinton," Karen greeted. Clint winced at his full name. This was bad, very bad. Only people who wanted to take him away from families called him Clinton. Clint held back tears as he stared at Karen. He resisted looking over toward Tony cause he knew that if he did, his face would show betrayal.

"Clint... Just Clint," he muttered. Karen nodded, though it was clear that it made no difference to her.

"How are you doing, this morning?" she asked. Clint frowned, debating if he should be honest or not. A glance at Pepper made the decision. He figured he should go with sweet. A change from his past to be honest.

"Okay, I guess," Clint mumbled, kicking his feet at the ground. Karen tilted her head, surprised by the answer. She had assumed that Tony and Pepper would have rehearsed a full sheet of answers for Clint to use by now.

"You guess?" she wondered.

"Are you going to take me away?" he murmured, sounding depressed as he fiddled with Stevie. Karen looked shocked for a second. That wasn't something she expected to hear. Shaking it off, Karen moved on with another question.

"Do you want me too?" she inquired. Clint shook his head no. Karen gave him a hopeful smile. "Then I hope not."

"Good, cause I like them. They're good to me," Clint declared, making Tony straighten up in pride. Pepper smiled brightly at him. Karen nodded. Now she realized her place. Tony had made her out to be the villain in this picture. Clint wasn't going to like her, ever. Karen could deal with that.

"I have heard that others live here as well. Have you seen them?" Clint shook his head. He didn't mind that in the least. Dealing with Tony and Pepper was enough.

"Tony told me that... Uh... Thor is home... Natasha is... Is... Oh, she's visiting family. Steve is... He's vacationing... And... Uh... I think Bruce is... Oh... He's kidnapped!" Clint stated. Karen's eyes widened at that last one before looking to Tony and Pepper in surprise. No one in the world had heard that news. If it broke that an Avenger had been kidnapped, it would be catastrophic. Looking at them as well, Clint could see the horror in their eyes. Suddenly he remembered what he was supposed to say. He laughed as if he caught her in a joke. "No... Sorry, that was a joke. He's with Steve on vacation. Their meeting some friends."

"Okay," Karen hummed as if she didn't believe him. Clint didn't think she did either but considering Tony's history, it wouldn't be surprising. And Karen had signed a NDA just like any other Stark Industries employee upon arrival. So she couldn't go to the press about Bruce being kidnapped without being sued.

"They haven't been around these past two weeks. I think... Tony may have told them to stay away for a bit until... Well, until I settled in," Clint lied. Karen nodded. It made sense. She made a note in her notepad. Someone would have to return to check on Clint once the others made an appearance.

"Are you afraid to meet any of them?" she asked. Clint frowned, wondering why he had to be afraid of them. Tony and Pepper were good people and they vouched for the others. Then he remembered what Bruce could do. His eyes widened in shock. Was that what this was all about?

"No! Bruce only goes green when he's mad and I make sure not to make anyone mad," Clint stated from years of practice with his now dead father. Karen's eyes subtly narrowed at this and Clint wondered if he made a mistake. "Sides, if Green Bruce was bad then he'd attack the other Avengers more often but he doesn't. He only hits Thor in play."

"Don't you fear he might hit you in... 'Play?'" Clint shook his head.

"Nah. Green Bruce knows that Thor can take it," Clint proudly answered. He then leaned in closer to Karen. "Sides, Thor is a god."

"Yes, he is," Karen agreed, again in a tone that stated she more than likely didn't agree. Clint frowned. He was really not liking her. And he was trying to like her. Heck, he was being good and everything. Slowly, Karen stood and turned back to Pepper. "I think it's time that I take that tour now."

"Yes, right away," Pepper called as she jumped to her feet and began to lead the woman into the adjacent living room. As soon as they were both gone, Clint joined Tony at the table. The billionaire looked nervous.

"Did I do good?" Clint whispered to the genius. Tony smiled before looking at Clint.

"Yeah," he said before raising a hand and ruffling Clint's rather long hair. "You did good."

* * *

**About 4598 words this time. Wow. Lots of words. It just kept flowing out of me. Couldn't believe how easy it was for me.**

**Baby Clint has been suffering from a high fever this week. Not a real sickness. Just a fever and overall tiredness. The doctor says it's just basically a head cold or something. It seems strange but he shows no other signs of anything else. We've heard everything from a head cold, to growth spurt, to stomach bug, to flu, to some random sickness going around the area. Who knows what it is. All we can do is give him Tylenol to keep the fever down and A/Cs to keep him cool.**

**Chapter Responses:**

**Favorites: ** Dragon Tamer103088 (_sorry you actually added last chapter, I missed you_), shdw bladez, 8839, Burningrepp1, mandamichelle

**Followers: **BeautifullyDamagedSimplyMe, shdw bladez, Ms. Rhianna Grayson-Wayne, 8839, LittleGreyGremlin, therealhooper, Slynn23

**Reviews Responses:**

_Niom Lambiose _\- No... No movies for poor little Clint. Tony (and I) completely forgot about the movies after the events at the police station. LOL. I think I'm making Clint suffer with no movies because Baby Clint won't sit still at the real movie theaters anymore and so now my husband and I don't get to go to the movies... Heck, we almost didn't get to go to Avengers Age of Ultron until I told my father that he could use it as my birthday gift to watch Baby Clint so my husband and I could go see it.

_sammygirl1963_ \- OCFS, mess things up? Why would that happen? Tee hee. Actually, this is based on what happened to me. Three days after Baby Clint was born, I got a call from Children Services. A nurse at the hospital that I was staying at called saying that I was unfit because I had major depression and that I owned animals. She took some of my worries that I had of my animals and enhanced them into actual events that would happen to Baby Clint should he come home when she made the report. She also broke hospital policy when she made the report by not going to the head nurse to state her fears and have a consoler examine me. I also had a night with a really bad case of baby blues. When Children Services came, the case worker on my situation basically threatened me and made allegations so far out of her power that for most of Baby Clint's first year I suffered such anxiety that I was too afraid to even leave his side for a second. I couldn't even leave him with family. Even now I still have issues when I drop him off at Day Care and he only goes there three days a week for eight hours a day. And the case has been dropped since he turned a month old... So judging on that, how bad to you think OCFS is going to be to Tony and Pepper, lol.

_pottyandweezlbe89 _\- Yeah. Well actually, I joke with my husband all the time that he's a mix of Tony and Bruce. He has the joking personality of Tony and the split anger personality of Bruce/Hulk. It's really interesting and sometimes really scary. Course I know I have no personality like Pepper. If we go by Clint in the comics or the cartoons were he seems more like (almost) an idiot/jokester, that seems more like me. But my husband refuses to tell me I'm like any of my favorite characters from any show I like, even if I totally am.

_MO-5431 _\- Thank you for the compliment.

_BeautifullyDamagedSimplyMe _\- Here you go, lol. I have in his history that at age 6, his parents just died and he went into an orphanage/foster homes so that's what he is remembering. As the story progresses, he'll act more childish.


	11. Chapter 11

With the OCFS worker, Karen and Pepper off on a tour of Stark Tower, Clint moved back into the kitchen area to finally get some breakfast. Not that he was really hungry now. His experience with Karen pretty much ruined whatever appetite he had when he first arrived on the floor. There was also a sour taste in his mouth. One that Clint almost could say was similar to bile, like he had tossed chunks moments before. So, for now he just headed into the kitchen and stood by the island, staring at Tony as he debated what to do next.

Tony just gave the boy a soft smile before returning to the table that he abandoned earlier. Karen had left numerous papers of the things OCFS deemed needed for a safe home and what Tony and Pepper were and were not allowed to do with Clint in their care. Tony intended to get a good look over each and every page. This whole thing was riding on him and he knew it. There was no way that Tony was going to screw it up.

Spreading the pages out on the table top allowed, not only JARVIS the ability to scan them over but also, Tony to have an easier time reading each page. He was intent on following every rule, no matter how stupid, so as to not lose Clint. Heck, Tony even intended on adding a few new programs into JARVIS so that the AI could better help Tony and Pepper be better 'parents' for Clint. Unbeknownst to the genius, JARVIS intended to use this knowledge in helping Tony and Pepper keep Clint on a legal end as well.

"Whatcha doin'?" Clint mumbled as he returned to the table, a package of Pop Tarts and a bowl of Lucky Charms carefully placed before him (Stevie placed gently in the seat beside him), having finally deciding what he wanted only moments before. Tony glanced up at the boy. He couldn't stop his smirk at the homely sight as Clint grabbed for his spoon to take a big bite out of his cereal. It was just enough to distract Tony from realizing that Clint had a bowl of Lucky Charms, something the archer had once told him he swore off.

The boy made a small face at the taste before looking back at it. At home his normal breakfast was toast or just sliced bread, not anything like the choices laid out for him here. Mainly whatever Barney could scrounge up so he had never really had cereal before. And Lucky Charms was _so_ not one Clint would be continuing to have. He gently pushed it away. Apparently, Pepper making breakfast the past couple of days also spoiled the little archer a bit too much.

"Reading," Tony told the boy as he reached for the bowl. Clint nodded as he opened the Pop Tarts, watching as Tony grabbed the spoon and began to eat what Clint had poured out. Lucky Charms happened to be the genius's favorite cereal. It was bought for him and not for any of the other Avengers after all. Tony kept his gaze on the papers even as he dug in to his new breakfast. Karen had arrived first thing so Tony and Pepper hadn't even had a chance to eat yet.

Rolling his eyes, Clint looked at the Pop Tart. He was not going to risk another incident with bad food. Barney had gotten a hold of some once or twice and had explained that it was strawberry flavored. Recognizing that these were indeed strawberry flavor, he smiled and began eating. That had been a good day and an especially good memory.

Tony paused as he realized what might have been going on. At this age, Clint would have just entered the orphanage that would have sent him to school. And the ex-archer had never really mentioned going to school when his parents were alive. Maybe now was a good enough reason to try? Shifting in his seat, Tony glanced at the papers before looking at Clint. "Um... Do you... Uh... Read?"

Clint paused in eating the rest of his first Pop Tart. For a moment he almost didn't want to admit the truth but considering Tony and Pepper had been rather kind to him, Clint was beginning to trust them. So far, they hadn't hurt him. Swallowing the bit of food in his mouth, Clint shook his head and glanced down at the table. Most adults didn't like his inability to read. They tended to call him stupid and sometimes, retarded. "Never learned."

"Would you... I don't know... Like to?" Tony hesitantly asked, having never been in this type of situation before. As an adult, Clint never really mentioned a lot of his past hardships and when he did, he never really got into smaller topics like when he learned to read, write and do math. But considering OCFS was already on their case over Clint, Tony wanted to get a head start on something as simple as education. He was a genius, how hard could it be?

Clint stared at the genius for a bit, contemplating what had just happened. No one had offered to teach him how to read. They just simply seemed to pass him onto the next person who would seem to take offense at being stuck with him. Biting his lip, Clint nodded. Yeah, he did want to learn. Maybe then he could prove he wasn't 'stupid' or 'retarded'. Smiling, Tony grabbed a random sheet and switched sides of the table so that he was sitting by the boy's side. Clint leaned closer to the genius so he could focus on the words better as Tony began pointing out different words. It wasn't long before Clint was mostly reading and understanding the words on the sheets.

Fifteen minutes or so later, Karen and Pepper returned to the hallway just outside the kitchen. Karen had remarked the entire trip on different issues that were present in Stark Tower and she had a notebook filled with each remark as well. She intended on typing up each page and mailing it to Pepper so the CEO could fix the issues before her next visit. For once, Karen actually enjoyed doing her job so thoroughly. She had always had issues with the Stark family in the past and this was a great way to get back at them, and do it basically legally.

Pepper, unknowing of Karen's other motive, was beginning to become frightened. There was so much needed to be done to keep Clint safe. In just the main living floor alone, Pepper heard so many issues that she was just about ready to tell Tony that they needed to redo the entire floor. Never mind Clint's own personal room... She wasn't sure if it all could be done, either in time or to Karen's standards. It was horrifying to realize how unsafe the tower actually was (not including the Avengers themselves and their enemies).

As they were about to round the corner to see Tony and Clint, they heard Clint speaking. He was reading from the pages that Karen had left and when he stuttered on a word, Tony gently coached him into figuring it out. Karen scowled at the implications of this. It could either mean that Clint had a learning disability, he never went to school, or Tony was trying to give the boy a head start. Whatever the choice, Karen didn't like the news. Pepper on the other hand, glanced around the corner and smiled. It warmed her heart to see such an example of great parenting from Tony.

"Clint will be happy here. We love him so much and I'm sure you'll find no better parents," Pepper declared as she looked back at the OCFS worker. It had been a long tour for Pepper and she was totally glad that it was over. Now all the CEO had to do was convince the worker that it was over and everyone could go back to their lives. Karen narrowed her eyes onto the CEO before sighing deeply.

"Let me be frank, Miss Potts..."

"Pepper, please," Pepper corrected, trying not to let her aggravation and anxiety temper her words. Those words were never good to hear. Karen nodded, having heard the CEO say that over and over during the tour. But Karen had no interest in getting familiar with the other woman. In fact, she intended to ruin the woman just like she was going to ruin Tony's chances with Clint. Pepper focused on Karen.

"Based on Mr. Stark's history alone, he'd never have been able to even attempt an actual adoption," Karen began. Pepper's eyes widened in outrage. That was unbelievable. To reject someone based only on their history. Tony had changed a great deal. A lot of it due to what happened in Afghanistan and Iron Man, but still. He wasn't the same man. Karen didn't seem to notice Pepper's reaction. She shifted to stand across the hall from Pepper so that now their sides were facing the kitchen and neither woman could see Clint and Tony. "Now we add in the potential dangers of the other Avengers. One who claims to be a god. Another who says he is a 95 year old man in a 24 year old body. A third who turns into a green monster and two others who are believed to be spies and assassins!"

"Please-" Pepper started but Karen held up a hand to stop her. This was the part that Karen hated when it came to a family like this. But there was nothing she could do about it for now. All she could do was do her visit, make up her recommendation and pray that the right situation would come through. Then again, the government figured that a genius like Tony would be willing (and able) to try and cheat the system somehow. The best opportunity would be in this type of case. Tony wanted Clint and legally it would be near impossible to get the boy without some sort of documented history. And if one suddenly turned up, they had Tony on possible cyber terrorism.

"But, Clint's case is special. We have no documentation on him. No birth records, no family history... It was like he didn't exist until almost a month ago. There is a Clinton Francis Barton out there in the world, but records state he'd be almost thirty or so. We have no idea what is happening or what will happen. All I can do right now, is my job. And that job tells me to take him away from here before he gets hurt," Karen sharply explained, her voice rising to a louder decibel. Neither woman noticed that Clint had removed himself from the table at hearing their exchange and now stood within hearing distance. He froze at the worker's words, Stevie was held tightly in his arms in shock.

Tony came up behind him at the last sentence and found his mouth dropping open in shock. This was horrible; worse than when Tony had seen Clint at the police station. The boy had just been waiting for Tony or Pepper to come up with some reason as to why they didn't want him. It was like when the Avengers first started after Manhattan. Clint had no self-esteem and the others had to basically build it all for him. And yet Tony had Clint now wanting to stay but now the government had gotten involved and wanted to take him away. It was unfair.

"Please! You can't," Pepper begged but was forced to stop when, yet again, Karen held up a hand. The worker shook her head.

"My boss has already informed me that Clint has apparently been staying here for at least a month or more. Considering he looks healthy, happy and seems fine to stay, we'll leave you at a trial basis. But any indication that this home is unfit or unsafe; and we will be back. Read over those papers and find out what is good and what is bad. I'll be back soon," Karen stated before turning and walking off. It was odd for Karen to leave without saying a proper good-bye to the child but she needed too. If she stayed, Karen was liable to try and take Clint from Tony too early.

Pepper sighed deeply. It was a relief to know that they would take Clint away right now but something in her gut told her to be wary. Something else was going on in the background. And it wasn't something good. Shaking the thoughts from her head, Pepper turned to head toward the two boys. A soft gasp made her stop and look up. She was shocked to see Clint and Tony standing there staring at her. Clint looked horrified. No, worse. Almost like someone had shot him. Tony was just utterly stunned. As he normally never dealt with workers like Karen, he didn't know how they'd react. And with how Karen reacted being so un-normal like that even, Pepper was surprised.

"Clint? Tony?" Pepper questioned.

"Is... Is she going to take me away?" Clint whined, his blue eyes beginning to tear up. Pepper shook her head but Clint didn't want to be consoled. He curled his arms around himself, dropping Stevie in the process, and backed away as Pepper tried to step forward. She just wanted to pull him into a hug. Tony winced at the heartbreaking words Clint said next. "I don't want to leave! I like it here! I'M SAFE HERE!"

Before Pepper or Tony could say a word to the stressed out boy, Clint ran. Having been left on his own for a while (even though he had been losing his memory), Clint had found numerous hiding places. Places that unknowingly he had found as an adult. Thankfully, JARVIS was able to keep track of the boy (thanks to the tracers still in place on his clothing) and simply told his creator and 'mother' that Clint was fine and just needed some space. The genius and CEO were all too willingly to let that be the case. It was too much to have to not only console themselves but also a frantic child who basically refused to believe them.

"I feel horrible," Pepper moaned as the duo returned to the table and all the pages that Karen had left for them. Tony nodded, having picked up Stevie and then placing the bear amongst the papers in distress. "I wish there was something I could do."

"It isn't our fault. And nothing we can say will make a difference. We proved that we want him. That we care. The issue comes from people outside our power that are trying to get involved," Tony told her. Pepper sighed and dropped down into a seat as Tony began gathering the papers. JARVIS already had them all scanned now, so the genius would go over them later. All Tony could think about now was, basically, wanting to go back in time and stop himself from ever becoming the party boy billionaire. "I just wish I could fix this."

"But we need Bruce," Pepper whispered. Tony frowned, that wasn't what he meant but it was still an issue. He needed a clue for that situation. Something that could bring them to the next step. So far, everyone was still stuck with Bruce having been taken from the convention with no real reason. S.H.I.E.L.D had a long list of groups that were interested in Hulk but there was no way to check every facet of each group. JARVIS was still following different routes that the kidnappers could have taken from the convention hall but even that was dwindling down. Course none of those took into account the weeks that have passed since Bruce was taken. For all Tony knew, Bruce could actually be in a building right downtown... "I just can't believe we can't find him."

"He's been missing over a month by now. You'd think that Hulk would have appeared at least once," Tony moaned. Pepper nodded in agreement. It was strange that Bruce was missing for so long and that there hadn't been a clue. Almost like he was taken to a different world or something. But one would hope that Thor would have returned with news if such thing happened. So Bruce had to be on earth, it was just a matter of where.

* * *

Clint didn't make his hiding spot all that hard to find. He ended up in the vent system over Tony's lab. A place that as an adult he tended to frequent when too upset to shoot arrows or train. If he truly wanted to be alone, Clint best hiding spot was actually on an area off of Tony's landing pad. But since he actually did want to be found sooner or later, Clint picked an easier spot. He just didn't realize the full implication of the place he had chosen.

The young boy ended up spending almost a full half hour stressing and crying over the possibility of being taken away from Pepper and Tony. In that half hour, JARVIS just monitored the boy, waiting to see if he was needed. But Clint didn't call out for help. He just curled in on himself and freaked out. By the end of the half hour, his little body was so tired of being stressed that he relaxed into a small ball. A few minutes after, Clint fell asleep in the vent. JARVIS snapped a quick image of the boy before relaying the news to Tony and Pepper, who were very busy going through the OCFS papers to find out what they needed to fix.

Pepper had a notebook at her side where she took constant notes on what she read and anything that Tony happened to point out. Some extra sheets of papers laid off to the side where she had written up lists of things to change around the tower, things to buy for the tower, what could wait and what needed to be done right away. At first, Tony didn't pay any attention to the lists but as the OCFS pages dwindled down, he glanced over. His gaze landed dead on the rather long list of 'Things to Buy' that Pepper had created.

"I need to go shopping again, don't I?" Tony groaned as he looked at the notepad filled with different items. Items that he had never heard of, and never thought of needing. Outlet covers, door handle covers, cabinet locks, BUMBER CORNERS!? It was insane. Never mind just the everyday sort of items that Tony never needed to get. Things like thermometers (a useless item considering JARVIS monitors everyone but OCFS doesn't know that), hair brushes, tooth brushes, children's medicine, wipes, children's soap, and so much more.

"I would go, but I have to catch up on some important SI meetings," Pepper explained as she wrote down another item to the list. Tony whined and Pepper just looked at him. She wished that she could do this for him but there was no way around it. Heck, she was a little bit more afraid of telling Tony the next bit. With a grimace, she spoke. "You have to bring Clint. Oh, and Happy is on vacation this week."

"Wait, Happy took a vacation?" Tony asked, surprised that the security guard would be so willing to do so, even knowing what was going on. Happy was normally very strict with his job. Pepper nodded, she seemed pleased with the fact that the man was taking time off. Happy had been overworking himself since Afghanistan. Almost like the man blamed himself for Tony getting taken, even though he wasn't there and was only a limo driver at the time.

"I handed him non-refundable tickets at the beginning of this year," Pepper said with a large smile on her face. Tony laughed, easily being able to see the CEO handing over the tickets and Happy's outraged face at the gift. No one had any idea at that time that something like this could have happened. So there was no one to blame. It just was one of those worst timing events that seemed to keep happening to the Avengers.

For a while the two continued on looking over the papers in silence. Tony had finished long before Pepper as he had gotten such a big head start earlier in the day, so now he just looked at her notes. Well, more specifically, the shopping list. He grimaced at a lot of the items. Most of the names of items seemed like they belonged to another world or something. It was so weird. And as Tony looked on, a lot of it seemed rather redundant. Did Clint really need baby gates to keep him out of certain rooms? And one would think a six year old would be smart enough not to go snooping around in drawers if an adult told him not to... Tony just shook his head. They had to do this. No, more like, he had to do this. If only to prove to OCFS that he could be a good parent. But... Well... A good parent would know the answer to this next question.

"Where am I going to buy all this?" Tony muttered as he once again looked down at the list. Pepper sighed deeply. She almost wasn't sure if she could trust Tony with this. But, then again... Tony needed to prove to the world that he could take care of a child. And it kind of helped that said child was an Avenger and so she figured they couldn't screw him up any more then he had already been. Or, so she hoped.

* * *

It was about four in the afternoon when Pepper finally told Tony that she believed to have a complete list of items that he needed to buy. She even decided to be a little more helpful by making a list of stores that should provide most items, if not all items, on the list. At first, Tony still tried to fight going out. It was going to be harder going out without Happy, as he had normally done a lot of planning behind Tony's back. Never mind going out once again with Clint, especially now that Clint had no memory of Tony outside of what happened when the boy was six. But Pepper would not be swayed. As she explained once again what the genius needed to do, she stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for her office floor. The doors closed on Tony's panicked face.

"PEP!" Tony desperately cried to the closed doors as he heard the elevator began to move. A low whine escaped his lips as he glanced down at the lists that the CEO had handed him. It seemed like only the day before that he had gone out with Clint to buy the boy clothes. And that had also been the day 'Stevie' was born. Tony sighed deeply. This so wasn't a good idea.

Ten minutes later, Tony stood outside his lab door listening to the light sounds of snoring. Apparently, Clint had slept most of the day away. It was stunning how much the boy did sleep. JARVIS even noted that it had been getting worse as days progressed. It seemed the longer Clint stayed a boy, the more sleep he needed. But that made no sense to Tony. Course, Tony never had to take care of a kid before so for all he knew it actually was rather normal. Instead, the billionaire just told JARVIS to keep monitoring it and note it in the file he had started when the AI came back online the night Clint had de-aged.

"Clint... Oh Clihint!" Tony cooed up at the vent cover above him. The snores continued. Tony smiled. He was so tempted to just jump up and hit the edge of the vent. Normally, Clint would have either noticed his presence by now or had jumped down to scare him, so it would be fun to give the archer payback. But considering the boy's current state and what his memory was like, Tony felt it best to be nice and not scare the boy. "Clint!"

"Hmm?" came a softly hummed response. Tony snorted before jumping up and gently tapping the bottom of the vent. There was a soft thud thud as his light tap made the sheet of metal shift. Another thudding sound echoed through the vent as Clint jerked away. "I'm up! I'm up!"

"Good, cause we're going shopping," Tony called to the boy. The genius paused for a minute. The way he had said those words sounded vaguely familiar. Suddenly he had an image of a donkey sitting on a chair. Groaning, Tony moved away from the vent. "Now I want waffles..."

* * *

**Tee hee. Waffles... Can anyone guess the movie I am referencing here at the end? BTW, 4172 words for the actual chapter.**

**So, Baby Clint is doing okay. Just started going into daycare and not crying when we drop him off. Not sure if I like it or not. The first day he did it, I missed it as I had hurt my back and couldn't really walk, so I didn't get out of the car. The second day (meaning this morning), I was able to see it. I think I cried just as hard both times. Never realized how much it would hurt to sit in the car as my husband dropped him off alone and then the next day not having him cry. But when he cried, it upset me... Ugh, why is being a parent so hypocritical? We want them to talk, then when they do, we want them to be silent and now this! ARGH! Oh well. I still adore him.**

**Chapter Responses:**

**Favorites: ** Helen Nurse, Sasuke vs. Itachi

**Followers: ** alyrae17, sk18, MsDaHedgehog, freakess360

**Reviews Responses:**

_Niom Lambiose _\- Just call him Clint Barton-Stark. Well, hasn't happened yet. OCFS is standing in the way. And yes, I realize that this isn't how it's normally handled but as I made Karen say, Clint's case is unique.

_sammygirl1963_ \- I'm glad you don't like Karen. I tried to make her the most unlikable character. I mean, I kind of feel bad for her as she's just trying to do her job but I gave her enough background reasons that one can also see she's just being a bitch. And sadly, Karen approves Pepper. It's Tony that needs to prove himself. As for my case, yeah... It really hurt. We had been looking forward to bringing him home and the day before we even can, my husband gets that call to go back to the house to meet her. And she told him that if there was even the slightest question from that first meeting that the house was unfit, I'd be sent home while Baby Clint would be left in the hospital with no idea if I'd ever get him back. I basically had no chance to prove myself before this woman would deem me unfit. And so now, anytime I meet a person that I know has to report to CPS over any indication of harm coming to Baby Clint, I basically panic. I'm actually still panicking every time I drop him at daycare cause I'm afraid that one day I'm going to get a new teacher that suddenly decides that CPS needs to be called. Every time my phone comes up with an unknown number, I tend to have a mini panic attack. It really bites and being a creative writer, I come up with so many scenarios in my head that people have a hard time convincing me that everything will be fine... Sry to lay that all on you but I just felt the need to vent tonight...

_pottyandweezlbe89 _\- Too true. Lol. And yay! Six year old Clint!

_MO-5431 _\- Thank you. Glad you are still enjoying.

_sk18 _\- I wish. Actually, Natasha is still away on a mission and doesn't even know that Bruce is kidnapped. Fury hasn't told her. And actually, Fury only just recently found out about poor Clint. But don't worry. The others are coming in two chapters.


	12. Chapter 12

Tony stared at the storefront before him. In all his life he had never seen himself needing to go into one of these types of stores. Hell, he had never even pictured himself with a kid. But look at him now. And the sad thing was that he was going in for a friend. Not for his kid, not for a baby of his own making... No, all for his friend that he had accidently turned into a kid. How wrong was this?

The genius was shaken from his thoughts when a small hand gripped his rather tightly. Surprised at the feeling, Tony glanced down to see Clint was also nervously staring at the store. Almost as if the young boy could sense the billionaire's own feelings. Actually, Clint had never been to one of these stores either. Something that Tony would remember if he was thinking clearly but he wasn't. Right now, the store looked rather intimidating to the poor boy and Clint just really wanted to get back to the Tower. Clint felt like this whole thing was a waste of time and that somehow he was going to get blamed for all this trouble.

Realizing that they weren't moving, Clint looked around. After a moment he slowly looked up at the genius. Sighing deeply, Tony pressed down his own feelings and gave Clint a warm smile. It was about now that Tony was getting the true meaning of parenthood. There was no sense in having them both riled up, so he needed to put on a calm face. After all, it was just a store. No harm could... Well, should come to them in this store.

"Let's go," Tony stated as if Clint had a choice in stopping him. They needed the items from this store, no matter how much both men didn't want to go in. Tony went to move but Clint held him fast. Glancing back at the boy, Tony could see that Clint was still leery of the store. Beginning to wonder if this wasn't about Tony's own doubts, Tony kneeled down to be more at the boy's level. "Something wrong?"

"Wha... What is this place?" Clint basically whined, sounding so much younger than his current age. Tony winced. He forgot that Clint's past was filled with basically shitty parental figures. It was most likely that the boy had never seen a store like this in his life. A lot like Tony, himself. While Tony's parents weren't all that bad, Howard and Maria never actually brought Tony out themselves. Normally Jarvis (the human Butler, not the AI) went out and did the shopping for them. Tony's smile twisted a little to try and calm the boy. Clint let go of his hand as if he was going to turn and run. Tony gently placed his other hand on Clint's shoulder.

"It's just a store. A store for... Well, parents and their babies," Tony explained as a mother walked by with a young girl, maybe a year old, in her arms. The girl waved at the two with a huge smile on her face. Tony smiled back at her and gave a gentle wave back while Clint just stared at them. Looking back at Clint, Tony could see that he hadn't fully relieved the boy. Instead, now the poor kid seemed more upset. "Uh... Mostly it's a one stop shop for parents."

"Do you... Consider me a baby?" Tony was taken aback at those words. He shook his head. How the hell had Clint gotten that from what Tony had said?

"No. No! God no! It's just... Some... Okay, a lot of the items we need to get OCFS of our back is found here," Tony replied. Clint frowned. He had seen the list that Pepper had made. Since Tony helped him learn how to read, Clint knew most of what they needed to get. He may not understand what half of it was or even what it looked like, but he at least knew the name. Course, he couldn't understand how this store could get OCFS off their case. It made no sense to him. But... He trusted Tony and so he followed the billionaire inside without a single thought of hesitation. Once inside, Tony looked back at Clint. "Can I trust you to push a carriage?"

"Sure," Clint answered, having pushed them before when Barney and him went shopping with their mother. It wasn't often that they had, but they did get to go every now and then. Slowly, Clint grabbed a carriage and began pushing it into the store. Tony smiled and grabbed another, shocking the boy. Noticing that Clint was watching him, the billionaire reached into his pocket and removed the list. It looked to be a minimum of four pages long. Clint nodded, understanding that they may need the extra space. He had never shopped for this many items before, but apparently Tony had.

Tony had only done this once before. He had to actually go personally shopping for all the items in Steve's floor. Well, all the items Tony had originally put in Steve's floor. As a joke, Tony had decked the entire floor out in everything belonging to the 1940's era. The genius had actually done a lot of research on the whole affair and who had what and when it was made. Because of such, he couldn't trust this job to anyone, not even Happy. Course in the end, it was a waste of time. Steve didn't appreciate the joke.

"Let's do this thing!" Tony cried as he fully entered the store and then froze as he looked at all the aisles of items. It was almost overloading his mind. Clint, now that he could see that this was just a store, chuckled at the billionaire and followed after the genius before pausing beside him in the entry way. The genius looked lost and confused as if he had never really gone shopping before. Well, he had never gone shopping in a store like this before. This time, Clint smiled at Tony and gently tugged on the billionaire's shirt sleeve.

"Let's go alley by alley," Clint suggested, not knowing his used the wrong word. Tony looked at the boy. Clint seemed more confident now that he was in the store. So confident that Tony didn't want to correct him with the proper word. Nodding, Tony waved the boy on and followed after him as Clint turned right and headed down the first aisle of items. Right away, Tony and Clint realized the mistake of this aisle. But neither seemed to fazed as they continued on.

The first half had been behind a gift registry area and it was mostly bags and purses meant to handle the everyday needs of a baby. After that the first aisle consisted of bottles and nipples and sanitizers and bottle brushes and things that Tony didn't need for Clint. The genius cringed but Clint proudly strode through the aisle until it finished and then turned to go down the next one. Thankfully, this one was a medical/safety aisle. Just what Tony needed.

Outlet covers, cabinet locks, and drawer locks were quickly piled into Clint's carriage. Thermometers, brushes, toothbrushes, and first aid kits were also plopped down. For some strange reason, Tony even grabbed bags for dirty diapers and such. Three aisles later, Clint's carriage was full and getting hard to push and Tony's was overloaded. It also had a bunch of things that Clint wasn't entirely sure they'd need but Tony said it was either on the list or he thought it'd be cool to have. The genius was pretty sure they had bought close to a million dollars' worth of product (a total overstatement). And the sad part was that they weren't even done. Sighing, Tony went to move on but a sudden voice stopped him.

"Hi, can I help you with anything today?" it called. Tony spun around to see an employee staring at him and Clint. The employee was looking expectantly at the duo and Tony could see the beginnings of the person thinking that they were going to steal all of these products or get to the register and not pay. Something that amazingly happened a lot at this store (not that Tony knew that). Tony waited a beat before he noticed the eyes begin to widen in surprise and then move quickly from him to Clint and back before settling on the billionaire. With that, he smiled at the employee.

It was good to be recognized by people. And while he had warned Pepper that something like this was going to happen, the CEO still sent him out. She had already figured that the damage was done though. Having reports of Tony Stark picking an unknown boy up from a police station tended to be big news. Pepper had already even seen the fact that it was reported that OCFS was on the case, so this shopping trip would actually be good news for them. If it ended up getting caught on the news. A lot of times menial tasks like this wouldn't get picked up but Pepper could only hope that someone would notice Tony shopping with the same boy from the police station.

"Yeah. We still have some more things to get so... Can you bring these up front so we can get two more carriages?" Tony questioned, Clint had walked a few steps away and didn't hear this. The employee nodded, looking much more pleased than before. Gently tugging Clint's carriage away from him, the employee then reached to Tony's and began to walk off. Clint frowned at the employee stealing his job but when he noticed Tony heading back toward the front of the store he followed. He was shocked when Tony pushed a new carriage toward him before grabbing one for himself.

"I don't get this," Clint declared as Tony began to head back to where they left. Tony looked at him.

"Get what? The shopping?"

"No... Well... Maybe... I mean, why do we need so much? My house never used to have even half of this stuff," Clint pointed out, not understanding that his old home wasn't the norm for most families. Never mind the fact that his new home wasn't the norm either. Tony scoffed, forgetting that Clint would be rather sensitive about his past (well in his mind, current) upbringings.

"Like your house was the perfect example of a good house," Tony sarcastically drawled. Clint winced at the genius's words. It took a second for Tony to realize what he said and immediately regret it. He stopped to kneel down in front of Clint again. Clint looked away this time but was forced to turn back when Tony gently grabbed his chin and moved it back. "Clint, I'm sorry. That was wrong of me to say."

"Just forget it," Clint mumbled before grabbing his carriage and walking off. Tony groaned. This is why he was afraid of becoming a parent. He was doing so good with Clint and then... One stupid comment and it was all over. Clint was closed off. Things were easier with adults cause they didn't tend to get hurt as quickly or if they did, they either fought back or stopped to explain why it hurt. Kids, they internalized it and a lot of times there was no way to ever take back the damage. Most times it scarred them for life.

Sighing, Tony went to follow after the boy when he heard something familiar. It took him longer than he liked to admit to realize the sound was his phone. Reaching into his pocket, he answered the call without looking at the caller ID and greeted the other person just as the phone reached his ear.

"Tony Stark," he greeted.

"We found him. We found Bruce," Steve's voice quickly and excitedly told the billionaire. Tony released the carriage and promptly forgot what he was doing as he spun on his heel and walked outside. Already he could feel the heavy weights of his bracelets to call on the Iron Man suit reacting to his increase in adrenaline. Excitement made him basically bounce as he walked and almost made him squeal when he spoke.

"Where?"

* * *

Clint didn't know what to do. One second Tony had been following him through the store and then... He was gone. Clint looked everywhere. But the genius was gone. At first he thought it was because of what he said. That they had gotten into that little fight and Tony realized he didn't want to deal with Clint's problems. It seemed like such a plausible idea. And no matter how much it hurt and bothered Clint, that's all the boy could think. Somehow, Tony decided that he was done with the boy. It was all over.

But then he heard the other customers wandering through the store. They mentioned seeing Iron Man leaving the store's parking lot. Clint knew that Tony was Iron Man. JARVIS had told him that basically every morning. He had seen the photos and videos that the AI played for him every day, but... Why would the genius leave him? Did Tony forget about him? Was there a really big problem downtown or something? Would Tony come back for him?

Clint was tempted to ask for help but... The papers that Tony had taught him to read with mentioned abandonment as a big no-no. And Karen had warned Tony and Pepper that one mistake would lead to him being taken away. There was no way that Clint would make this worse. He wasn't going to get caught. But what was the best way to go about that? Clint looked around. Well, this was a store...

Thankful that he had read the list that Tony had brought and remembered most of what was on it, Clint began to go back to finish shopping. Anything that looked cool or stated that it was good for kids, or even child safety, he tossed into his cart. It quickly filled as he went around the store. Slowly, he brought it back up front to leave by the other two carts that he remembered helping fill up earlier. No one said a word to him as he walked back to the front and got another carriage.

Sighing, he headed back in and continued shopping. This one didn't fill up as quickly. But as he continued to go around the store without Tony, employees began to watch him. It was like before. They wondered about him as no one his age would be able to afford all this stuff. Never mind the fact that he had been seen with Tony Stark and now he was alone. It was like the employees could tell that something was wrong. Clint whined as he slipped around the aisles, not shopping anymore, instead using the aisles as ways to hide.

"Tony, where did you go?" Clint moaned to himself as he slipped past an employee who was on their way to the back room for another guest. This one gave him a questioning look at his cart. A look that Clint was familiar with. One that meant he was guessing about Clint's appearance.

Trying to stay hidden in the store, Clint began watching other employees. Slowly, he began to see them seemingly banding together and talking. The boy could only assume they were talking about him as they hadn't been doing that before. Sighing, he abandoned the cart and headed toward the rest rooms. He had to sneak past another employee to get inside. Thankfully this one didn't even glance at him.

Once inside, he saw someone at the sink washing their hands. Antsy, Clint waited for the gentleman to leave. The gentleman barely noticed Clint's tension as he went about washing his hands and then drying them. He seemed to be clearly taking his time. All Clint could think about was someone else coming in before this one man could leave. But he finally did leave. And a second after the man left, Clint rushed the door and locked it. Backing away and toward the furthest stall, he jumped when there was a shifting of the door and a sound of someone hitting it.

"What the? Oh, come on!" someone complained from outside. There was a muttering that sounded like 'I really needed to go,' before disappearing. Sighing in relief that it was a customer and not an employee, Clint relaxed against the wall. He knew that he didn't have long here. The employees were suspicious of him and now a bathroom was locked. But at least for now he was safe.

"Tony," Clint moaned as he slid down to wall to sit on the floor and thump his head. Suddenly there was a knocking at the door. Panicked, Clint jumped to his feet. In doing so, he clattered into a trash can, alerting the person outside that someone was indeed inside. While doing so, something shifted in the boy's back pocket. A reminder of something he had grabbed before.

"Hello? Is someone in there?" a person called through the door. Clint reached into his back pocket and pulled out a thin almost paper like device. Something tugged at his memory, making him tap the front. He was stunned when it lit up with colorful icons. At this point, he was really glad that, each morning, JARVIS told him to bring the item along. Thankfully, Tony hadn't messed with the device that much and so one of the icons was clearly listed as 'Phone'. Tapping that, he was distraught to see it load up with a speaker. For some reason, he half hoped it would automatically dial someone helpful. "Can you unlock the door or do you need help?"

"Whom do you wish to call?" a voice said from the device. Clint nearly sobbed in relief. If he had to try and type a number in, he wouldn't know who to call. He hadn't been taught anyone's numbers. It was now that he became so thankful that technology had advanced. A quick panicked glance up toward the door one last time had Clint speaking to the device.

"Call... Pepper Potts," Clint told it. It began ringing as there was more knocking on the door. Clint began ignoring the sounds from the door as he backed deeper into the bathroom. He ended up against the back wall inside the handicapped stall. Feeling exposed, Clint shut the stall door and locked it. A possibly stupid move but he was scared and wanted some line of defense. And apparently a locked door was the best line of defense in his scared six year old mind.

"Clint?" Pepper answered. Clint smiled as he dropped down onto the toilet. It was so great to hear her voice. She apparently realized rather quickly that something was up. Maybe it had to do with that fact that he never called or never used a phone before. But either way, she knew. "Clint? What's wrong?"

"I'm stuck in a bathroom," Clint whined. He began to tear up. Somehow he knew this was his fault. As much as he didn't want to get into trouble, Clint needed help. He needed her help. "I... I think they're going to take me away!"

"Where's Tony?" Pepper asked. Clint pouted. What did that matter? Didn't she know? Didn't Tony tell her that the genius had given up? Was there actually another reason that Tony left?

"I don't know! Some people mentioned Iron Man leaving but... He didn't tell me anything," Clint moaned as he heard something that sounded like keys sliding into the lock of the main bathroom door. He winced as if the sound was bouncing around in his head. On the other side of the phone, Pepper began cussing out Tony. Clint would have laughed at the various words she used but was too frightened at the situation. He raised his legs up onto the toilet so no one would see him unless they looked under the stall. "Pepper, I'm scared."

"Don't worry Clint! I'm on my way. Just, stay on the line with me. I want to hear everything," Pepper said. Clint nodded even though he knew she couldn't see it. He dropped the phone down toward his lap so that Pepper could hear more than just him. The bathroom door opened and someone came in. Thankfully, this must have been the customer who really had to go because all they did was rush into the nearest stall. A door slammed shut and there was a pause before a relieved sigh filled the room. Clint stiffened. Again, he felt the need to laugh at the situation but fear and his long history with his father kept him silent.

"Someone's here," Clint whispered to his phone. Pepper groaned. This was getting worse with every second. In her head she was imagining every way she was going to beat Tony to death for making poor Clint suffer like this.

"I'll be there soon. I promise. I'm not that far away now," Pepper soothed. She had left the tower earlier that day on important business. Clint never knew where to. He had just assumed she was still at the tower. Whimpering in agreement, he wished the woman was already at the store.

"Hello? Is someone else in here?" the voice from before asked. The same voice that had asked Tony if he needed help. Clint knew it was the employee. One that knew he had been here with an adult. Of all his luck, why this one? "Hello? I know someone has to be in here."

"Pepper?" Clint sobbed into the phone. Pepper almost sobbed back. She wanted to help so bad. No, she wanted to pull the boy into a hug. Oh how she wanted to soothe him. But she couldn't. She was still too far away.

"I'm sorry. I'm coming as fast as I can," Pepper quietly told him. Clint felt tears begin to fall down his face. He didn't want to lose such a great place. "I don't think I can make it on time... Just... Put your phone in your pocket. Don't let anyone know I'm listening."

Clint nodded and did as she said as there was a loud crash on the other end of the bathroom. He jumped as another one happened, closer, only a few seconds later. The employee was opening the stalls. They weren't going to give up. Clint moaned. Why did this always happen to him?

"I know someone's here. If you just need help, tell me. You can trust me, please," the voice called out. Clint winced. He really didn't trust the person but he needed to do something.

"I don't want to be taken away," Clint loudly admitted to not only the employee but to Pepper as well. The noises stopped as the person pondered this news. Pepper sobbed softly into her phone. Clint sounded so sad and heartbroken. For all either of them knew, OCFS may never be alerted to this situation.

"Are you stealing something? If so, just return it now and we won't need to call the cops," the voice replied. Clint shook his head.

"I'm... I'm not stealing! I just... I don't want to be taken away from my home!" Clint called, finally admitting that Stark Tower felt like home. There was a longer pause here.

"Why would you be taken away?" This time the voice was right outside the stall. Clint looked down at the floor and noticed the feet and legs of the employee right outside the stall. He sobbed. It had been such a mistake to speak.

"Cause... Cause they think Tony is bad... Bad for me," Clint moaned, tears freely pouring down his face. There was a sob from his pocket. Realizing it was coming from Pepper, Clint began to feel bad. He hadn't meant for her to hear that. "He didn't mean to leave me! I know it!"

"It's okay, we won't say anything. Just... Come on out," the person called. Clint let out a large sob. He didn't want to but there was nothing else he could do. In here, he was trapped. Slowly, he stepped off the toilet and slunk over to the door. With a feeling that he'd soon regret this choice, Clint unlocked the door.

* * *

**4073 words in this chapter. Got all those in at the last minute. This chapter was almost only going to be around 3000 words but I worked hard to lengthen it for you all.**

**Baby Clint is doing well. Still not really talking. Heat is kicking our butts here. Not that it's getting too high but every afternoon he wants to go for a walk and my husband has to do it even though he's sick and can't be in the heat long. Then when the walk is over, they still have to stay outside for another half hour or longer so Baby Clint can play in his sand box. At least that's always in the shade but still... I feel bad for my husband. And I would trade places but I can't cause I've had back issue since Mother's Day and am now going to see a Pain Specialist on Monday about getting proper medication as regular over the counter pain meds and muscle relaxants aren't helping my back heal.**

**Well enough about me... Onto the reviews!**

* * *

**Favorites: ** dany1114, become-1-with-hetalia, TheDemonKing99

**Followers: ** ilovefood893, dany1114, K9Hoover, VictoriaGrenitch, writerluber

**Reviews Responses:**

_Niom Lambiose _\- Glad you thought it was great. And of course Tony's gonna try to be a good father. He has to try and prove that he can take care of his friend/teammate/any kid that comes into his life. And a disaster at shopping? Why, they did so well the first time? Stevie may have come out of that, but it went well. LOL.

_sammygirl1963_ \- I'm sorry to break your heart. Don't want to kill my readers, lol. And you can only wait and read. Don't want to spoil the whole thing for you.

_pottyandweezlbe89 _\- Karen working with HYDRA. Hmm... That's a thought. Too bad I already wrote my villains in. And Baby Clint went back to crying this week. Only lasted two days, lol. We all laugh about it at the day care. Call him a big faker. Hopefully it will get better soon. I'm just looking forward to the days when he actually speaks more words than 'all done', 'I did it' and 'dad'.

_MO-5431 _\- Glad you think it's still awesome. And correct guess, though I'm pretty sure you knew that, lol. And you have a fantastic day too.

_sk18 _\- Refreshing? Hmm. Interesting. Good interesting. Glad you think it's fun. It's fun to write, that's for sure. And yeah, I wanted to give Clint another chance at childhood and it also plays off of the random plot bunnies that I get daily when I hang out with my own Baby Clint.

_5mairer _\- I actually don't like either paring. I go more for Steve and Natasha mostly but usually I tend to find the my writing likes to surprise me. So far though, Natasha seems to be sticking with Steve in my later chapters. It's very slight though as I am trying to keep this whole story focused mainly on Clint, Tony and Pepper.

_Burningrepp1 _\- Glad you love it and yup, correct guess! I wrote the line as I was saying it and took like a ten minute pause before I remembered it myself and then laughed.

_m klindt _\- Oh my god is parenting hard. Wouldn't trade it for the world but there are so many times that I question why I thought this was a good idea for me in particular. It just totally seems like time is going by so fast on the good days and so slow on the bad days. And I'm not sure which one of us are having the good and bad days most of the time, lol. But, we'll both get through this, I know. And as long as I keep writing here, all you readers will keep updated on the ride as well. LOL.


	13. Chapter 13

"For a whole month, they did nothing to you? Nothing at all?" Tony asked again for what seemed to be the hundredth time since retrieving his science buddy. Bruce chuckled at the shock laced in the genius's voice. Admittedly, even the other Avengers seemed a little surprised at the admission the first few times but now them seemed over the idea and were more annoyed with Tony continuing to press the issue.

After rescuing Bruce, the Avengers all had gathered on a quinjet and demanded to be returned to the tower. Steve wanted to return to check on Clint, as Tony had given no explanation as to why the archer was missing from this mission and from prior check-ins. Natasha wanted to return after having been gone for so long. She was too used to the past where she would return from missions and meet Clint or her handler right away, even if heading out on a new mission. Meanwhile, Bruce just wanted to get back to his experiments, as he had no idea of the other issues hidden behind the other Avenger's worry.

When Steve had first gotten the lead on where Bruce had been, he and some rescue-qualified S.H.I.E.L.D agents took a quinjet to go get him. There was absolutely no waiting involved to see if there was permission to get the doctor or anything, they all just took off. The group left so fast that Steve had to call Tony on flight to the location. Upon arrival, Tony and Steve were stunned to see Natasha waiting for them. She looked rather pissed off and didn't say a single word to either of them. But together they all stormed the place. Bruce ended up being locked in an entire basement floor that was built to look like a one bedroom apartment with connecting lab. The rest of the building had basically been abandoned.

"Not a thing," Bruce reiterated. He had almost an amused smug smile on his face. Everyone had been going over his memory of the entire event with a fine toothed comb. Even though he felt he should be annoyed, their bothered faces made him more amused than anything. "Anything I asked for was brought to me. Well, within reason. Anything involving the ability to leave wasn't given to me."

"Did they say why they wanted you?" Steve questioned, feeling annoyed that these people took Bruce for no reason. Something was up, the solider just hadn't figured out what. Bruce shook his head. He had already mentioned having been unconscious during transport so he hadn't known where he was. When he had woken, the people who had taken him mentioned they were hiding in a populated city (a lie he only recently learned about). They then locked the door to the basement and hadn't spoken to him again.

"There must have been some type of end game," Natasha commented, rubbing her chin as she digested the information that Bruce was relaying them. Bruce shrugged. If there was, they never told him about it. He had told the lithe spy everything that he knew. But there was no evidence, no talking to him, no pushing him to do something... Just nothing.

"I was put there and left alone. At first, I raged and attacked the place, but any sign of green and a knock out gas would fill the floor. When I woke, everything would be fixed and righted. After a while, I asked for some tea to keep Hulk satisfied. An hour later, a large box of mixed teas were slid through the door. So, to test a theory, I began asking for whatever I could think of in a huge list; books, food, bedding, clothing, C4 and so much more. Each request was granted except for C4 and any chemical that could possibly mix with another to create an explosion," Bruce explained. Natasha frowned. That meant they had to be checking over each thing that the doctor asked for. They kept a list and checked it over each time Bruce asked for something new. So they were smart. But why kidnap a man who changed into a rage monster and then do nothing with him?

"They seriously didn't ask you to do any experiments? They never asked for blood or anything?" Tony grumbled, beginning to feel like he had been gypped when he had been kidnapped before. God, he was a billionaire and genius, why couldn't something like this happen to him? Why couldn't any of his kidnappings have gone so easily? Bruce shook his head. He had checked for any holes, or wounds, after each time he was unconscious. Not a single hole for a needle to have slipped through.

"I didn't even step foot in the lab," Bruce replied. Then he shrugged again. "They didn't seem to care about it."

"I don't get it. They didn't torture you. They didn't make you do anything. They didn't contact us for some sort of ransom. It makes no sense! Why take you?" Tony bitched. Bruce chuckled lightly at Tony as the pilot turned to Natasha and mentioned that they were almost to the tower. She nodded and moved to help him land on the pad that Tony had long ago since created on his roof. Markings from the various Bifrost usages showed the dead center and that's what the duo used to land.

The group got off as one. And as the landing bay closed back up, Bruce and Natasha waved a 'thanks' to the pilot as he took off again. Tony led the group to the door which would bring them inside while he called out to JARVIS. He wanted to make sure that Pepper and Clint knew the others were back. It was during the excitement with finding Bruce that Tony forgot about what happened to Clint. Together, they loaded in the elevator and headed down to the common floor. The doors opened to show Pepper at the end of the hall. Her hands were on her hips and her eyes were narrowed in extreme anger as Tony disembarked first and walked toward her. Everyone but him could see the signs of what was about to happen.

"Uh, Tony," Steve tried to warn as he and Natasha and Bruce left the elevator as well. But Tony either didn't hear or didn't care. Instead he opened his arms wide for a hug and continued closer. Pepper's eyes narrowed even more as she drew her right hand back. Once Tony was close enough, she snapped it across his face. The other Avengers present winced at the crack of skin on skin. Tony stumbled back a few steps in surprise.

"OW! What the fuck, Pep!?" Tony cried as he reached for his cheek. Already it was reddened and beginning to show signs of swelling up. Bruce knew that it was going to bruise within the next day or so and it was going to stay for a while. Natasha wondered if she should step between the billionaire and CEO but figured if Pepper was that pissed, nothing she could do would help. Steve was just as stunned as Tony. He hadn't really ever been around when Pepper got this mad at Tony.

"How dare you!" Pepper accused of the genius. Bruce and Steve traded a look as they wondered what Tony did this time. Natasha glanced around the tower. Something was out of place. But she couldn't see anything that could royally tick Pepper off this much around the area. Tony just stared at Pepper as his mind began to feverously backtrack to find out what he did wrong. "You are such a complete and total idiot! I can't believe I trusted you!"

"What? I don't..." Tony began, trying to figure out what excuse could get him out of the doghouse. He had no recollection of what he had done that could upset the CEO. Pepper looked even more outraged.

"Clint is currently hiding in his room, traumatized!" Pepper snarled. Tony's eyes widened in shock as he realized what he had done. Yeah, there was no getting out of the doghouse here. If Tony felt safe whimpering, he would. Oh wait, never mind. He totally whimpered as he looked up at the angered CEO.

"What?" Natasha called, confused. What could the genius have done that could have traumatized a senior agent of S.H.I.E.L.D? Bruce and Steve looked at each other in total silence. They knew they didn't have the complete story and wondered about when they'd begin to get it. For a moment, they debated asking Pepper what she meant alongside Natasha but Pepper was too focused on the whining genius.

"Oh my god!" Tony stated, the reality of the situation beginning to settle in. He gave Pepper a desperate look, begging that he didn't do what he thought he did. All she could do was frown at him and nod. His heart broke. He ruined everything. With a sound that almost seemed like a wail, Tony dropped his head into his hands. "Oh god, no! Pep!"

"Don't you 'Pep' me. Karen already called. There are numerous reports saying that you were there and then you left. He was alone. She's coming back within the week," Pepper snapped. Tony shook his head in distress. He couldn't believe it. He really did try so hard not to mess this up. But here they were. Bruce and Steve frowned. There was so much to this story that they were missing. Natasha looked deeper into the common floor. It was there that she noticed some kids toys. To her horror, she wondered if Tony and Pepper had tried to adopt and dared to name the child after the resident archer. Or even worse, adopt a kid by the same name.

"What is going on? Who is Karen?" Steve questioned when it seemed no answers were forthcoming. Pepper's glare turned even darker as she stared at the genius. He didn't even look up at her. There was nothing he could say or do that would help this situation. Slowly the billionaire shook his head, a sign that meant he wasn't going to explain. Pepper sighed, she honestly shouldn't be surprised. "Does this have to do with needing Bruce's help?"

"It's probably easier to just show you," Pepper told the confused and slightly horrified trio. She stalked past Tony to head back toward the elevator. Everyone followed. But once inside, Pepper stopped Tony from entering. Her face once again hardened in anger. Tony winced and stepped back. "No. He asked not to see you right now and besides, I wouldn't let you even if he did."

"Oh... Okay," Tony vocalized, sounding more depressed than anyone had ever heard before. Pepper almost caved before remembering Clint's petrified face when she had finally arrived to pick him up. She straightened and watched Tony begin to slink away as the elevator doors closed. The trio behind her traded looks as they wondered what Tony could have done that was so bad.

"So," Bruce began but stopped when Pepper shook her head. After that no one spoke.

* * *

"Clint, it's Pepper. I have some... Well, friends who'd like to meet you," Pepper gently soothed through the locked door after knocking and not receiving an answer. It had been like that since the duo had returned earlier that day. Pepper had been staying with the boy for a while until she got Karen's phone call. After that, Clint had pretty much kept her locked out as well.

Steve, Bruce and Natasha stood behind the CEO wondering what she meant as they traded looks in confusion. They all knew Clint. The whole group had been living in Stark Tower since almost two weeks after the Manhattan battle, so why would he need to 'meet them'? It made no sense.

Pepper gently knocked again with a sigh. For a moment the CEO wondered if Clint was even going to answer. Still nothing. She sighed deeper before resting her forehead against the door. "Clint, please open the door."

"Is Tony with you?" a soft meek child-like voice answered finally making Pepper lift her away. Natasha jerked back from the door in horror. She didn't even have time to really mask her feelings. That couldn't be who she thought it was. No way in hell. Bruce felt his jaw drop. His only thought was 'how could this have happened?' Steve just stared, opened mouthed, at the CEO. All she did was give them a knowing smile and a nod before turning to face the door again.

"No. I told him you didn't want to see him just yet," Pepper replied as if she had known that this was what the boy would say. The lock clicked but the door didn't open. Pepper smiled and slowly pushed it open before entering the room. She paused in the doorway, as if listening to something that the trio behind her couldn't here. When the CEO began moving again, all she did was turn to face them. She waved a hand at them, basically telling them to wait a few. They nodded, not liking the idea but decided to play along. Pepper entered the room and they waited outside with bated breaths.

Natasha moved to lean against the wall opposite from the door. Now she understood why Clint hadn't met her. Why he wasn't there to save Bruce. But why didn't Tony say anything? Was the man that lost in his own head? Bruce glanced back at the lithe spy rather quickly before focusing on the super solider before him. Something in his memory tweaked. Steve stood ramrod straight as he waited by the door. He kept his mind focused. There would be no wandering to strange ideas, no assumptions until he got the full picture.

"What did you mean by Tony needing me?" Bruce finally asked, breaking the silence. Steve looked over at the doctor before shrugging.

"When you first went missing, he called your phone saying he needed to speak with you. I never did find out why," Steve said. Bruce frowned. Why would Tony need him? Slowly, Bruce turned to Clint's door. Did it have to do with this situation?

"In all the times you and Tony spoke about Bruce, did Clint ever say anything?" Natasha wondered, pushing off the wall. Steve frowned as he thought back on all the times he had spoken to the genius. After a few, he shrugged and then shook his head no. Before anyone could make an extra comment, the door reopened.

"'Kay," Pepper called from inside. Shrugging, Bruce entered first as he had the least apprehension about it all. Steve and Natasha were quick to follow, picking up on the fact that they weren't going to learn anything out in the hall. Inside, Pepper stood before them in the entry way but no one else was in the room.

The whole place had changed since the last time anyone had been inside. All of Clint's weapons had been long since removed. Kids' toys and kids' clothing littered the floor. Even a few kids' books were tossed about the furniture. Photos of each of the Avengers were in clear view with labels as to who they were and how Clint knew them. The TV had a glow that showed it was normally always turned on so that JARVIS had quick access to it.

"He's in the bedroom. He'll be out in a second," Pepper told them even though they didn't ask. Each of the other Avenger looked about the room to note the random changes. Some were small, like child locks on the cabinets in the on-floor kitchen. Others were big, like of course the aforementioned toys.

"What is going on? Where is Clint?" Natasha growled, not liking this, whatever it was, anymore. Pepper sighed and looked toward the bedroom. It was at that moment, a young boy stepped through the doorway.

He was dressed in a green shirt that had muscle designs drawn into it. He also wore green pants that had an overlaying design of what looked to be ripped purple shorts or pants. Gripped tightly in his hands was a teddy bear with the design of Captain America's shield but dressed in an outfit that looked similar to Tony's most recent Iron Man armor. His dirty blond hair was messed up, as if he had just woken but his sky blue eyes were blood shot and red. Signs that he had been crying before the others arrived.

"Hi," he meekly called and let out a small wave, using the bear instead of his own hand. He almost looked terrified of them. Pepper kneeled down and the boy rushed to her side. He held tight onto her arm and the bear. Between the stuffed toy and the CEO, most of the boy was blocked from the other's view.

Bruce's jaw dropped as he began to realize what must have happened. But he wasn't sure if he could really believe the truth or not. Nothing like this had ever happened. No, nothing like this should be possible. Somehow Bruce figured that he must not have been saved. The people who kidnapped him must have done something. Created some sort of dream or nightmare... Either way, this had to be fake. Right?

Steve looked stunned at the boy, unsure what to make of the situation. So much was different since waking from the ice. Was it possible that Tony and Clint were playing a prank? His eyes focused on the stuffed toy rather than the boy and he almost quirked a smile. Though most of the bear's fur was covered, he could still tell what it was. Heck, Pepper had even shown him what Build-A-Bear wanted to do. Steve just never expected Tony or Clint to find out about it. But here he paused. Would Tony ever actually go through building one of those things? Doubtful... This must be a dream. Right?

Natasha was just horrified, but she hid it behind a mask of indifference. She finally had control over her feelings and thankfully just in time. Here was her partner and friend, now... A kid, barely looking four years old but considering what Natasha knew of Clint's history, she knew he must be a little older. When she left for her mission those weeks ago, she had no idea that anything like this could possibly happen to him. If she had any idea, any idea at all that Clint would have been in danger, Natasha would have stayed with him. Then again, she should have known leaving Clint and Tony alone in the Tower was a bad idea. It was all her fault. Right?

"Clint?" Steve inquired, wanting to make sure this wasn't a dream. The boy nodded, hiding his face slightly behind the CEO and lifting the bear to cover the rest of his face. Pepper smiled at him, making the boy feel slightly more confident, and began pointing to the Avengers even as she shifted the stuffed toy away. Clint followed her hand to stare at each adult.

"That's Steve Rogers. He's Captain America. And that's Bruce Banner. He's the Hulk. And she is Natasha Romanoff. She's Black Widow. You remember them from the video's Tony and JARVIS showed you, right?" Pepper soothed. Clint looked over the three before nodding slightly. Then he looked at Pepper. He really wasn't in the mood for visitors. In fact, he hadn't really wanted to meet the others. He only did it because Pepper had asked nicely and he'd do anything for her. It was then that he seemingly noticed she shifted the bear down and so he shifted it back to cover his face from his visitors.

"Am I still going to be taken away?" he muttered to the CEO, fearful that these 'friends' would be someone who would remove him. Pepper frowned. She really had no idea what was going to happen. On the phone, Karen had mentioned that she needed to speak to her bosses. As Tony was famous and Clint basically had no background info, this was a special case. Karen couldn't do her normal routine, which would be taking the boy away. This could really go anyway.

"I don't know. I hope not," Pepper admitted. Clint sobbed lightly before pulling her into a hug. He really had enjoyed his time with Tony and Pepper. And he kind of had been looking forward to spending time with the others that supposedly lived in the tower. But, neither he nor Pepper or Tony could do much against Karen and the workers at OCFS.

"Taken away? By who?" Natasha nearly growled, believing that the people who had taken Bruce had threatened to take Clint. Bruce and Steve tensed as well, wondering what they could do to help keep Clint safe. Pepper looked back at the assassin. Her face showed the stress that was hiding behind her facade for Clint. Clint winced at the tone and tugged Pepper closer. Without thinking about it, Pepper began rubbing her hand on the boy's back. Natasha frowned and tried not to show any emotion at the closeness of the duo. She had no clue that it was her own tone of voice that had prompted Pepper to soothe Clint in such a manner.

"OCFS got a report on Tony, saying he was living with a child. Believing Clint was adopted or a foster or something, they came to check on him. We were told that if Tony made one mistake, no matter how big or small, they'd take Clint away from us and not let any type of adoption go through," Pepper explained. The others said nothing as they just stared at the CEO. "That's who Karen is. She's the OCFS worker on our case."

"OCFS? Office of Child and Family Services?" Bruce reiterated. Pepper nodded. Bruce gave a dark laugh as he looked around. "Did you not tell them who he really is?"

"We hadn't even told S.H.I.E.L.D," Pepper replied with a pause just long enough to see how they reacted. None of them seemed surprised. "We didn't want anyone to know until we could fix this. But... Tony is so famous, people were bound to notice him suddenly hanging out with a child."

Clint jumped forward slightly, interrupting anyone who would have spoken next. He looked panicked, like one of the others was going to beat Pepper for what she was saying. Even though it was obviously not true, someone must have been giving the impression that it was feasible. But as the boy spoke, they realized he wasn't just defending Pepper. He was defending Tony as well. Even while angered and hurt at the genius, Clint still defended him. It was no wonder that the boy became the Hawkeye that they all knew.

"It wasn't his fault! I... I wanted to see a movie... They wouldn't let me in," Clint complained, his voice strong at first and then grew weaker as they all focused on him. Pepper pulled him into a hug as tears began to form on his face. He embraced her back, dropping the stuffed bear to do so. But he still continued speaking. "Police got involved... When they looked up my name, they found a case file but it didn't seem to match me."

"It wouldn't," Natasha moaned, sounding more like a groan, before kneeling down as well. She wanted to comfort her partner. At least, she felt she might do a better job than Pepper. "Did Tony and Pepper explain that you are supposed to be about 30 years old?"

Clint nodded. He still didn't really believe it, but as time wore on, he was beginning to see the truth. Natasha watched as he leaned closer into Pepper's arms. She felt stricken to realize that Clint didn't know her. He had spent the last month with Pepper and Tony, so he had grown close to them. Swallowing her pride, Natasha backed away before she showed her sadness. No one seemed to notice, a stark reminder of what the spy was missing.

"How did this happen?" Bruce muttered, leaning down himself to look the boy over. Clint shifted awkwardly as he tried to allow Bruce to examine him but at the same time, he tried to hide behind Pepper and grab the bear he had dropped earlier. Pepper sighed as she shifted Clint around to stand before her. She draped her arms over his shoulders to still hold him in a protective hug. Natasha looked away. Steve gave the boy a warm smile as he picked the bear up and handed it to Clint. The smile was nervously returned as Clint slowly accepted the toy.

"Tony... May have used your serum," she answered. Bruce paled as Steve's attention snapped to him.

"The serum that he was going to get help on?" Steve questioned, the whole situation beginning to dawn on him. Pepper nodded. She wasn't going to keep anything else a secret anymore. It wasn't just Tony's and her problem anymore.

"That wasn't stable. It wouldn't work on me, never mind on... Oh god, no wonder he needed my help. I only ever tested it on my blood," Bruce groaned. Pepper whimpered lightly as Clint then tucked his head into her shoulder. Knowing he was getting upset again, Pepper spun him around and pulled the ex-archer into a hug. Natasha backed away, almost revolted by the scene. She couldn't believe that her partner had gotten so close with the CEO. "How long ago?"

"The day after you all left," Pepper said. Bruce moaned and stood up. He began to start pacing the small entry way of Clint's room/apartment. "We went to bed and he was fine. When we woke the next morning, JARVIS had been down all night so there was no warning. We came into the bedroom to see him... Well, like this."

"How?" Steve inquired. Pepper realized that the solider was in shock. "How did Clint get the serum?"

"I can answer that, Captain. Sir and Clint Barton were training. When Clint Barton trapped Sir in his lab, Sir went for the sleeping agent he had been making for Agent Romanoff. By mistake, Sir knocked over both his and Dr. Banner's desk. In Sir's confusion, he grabbed the wrong vial and shot it at Clint Barton," JARVIS intoned, having witnessed the whole scene.

"Oh my god. I have to go to the lab," Bruce cried before spinning around and rushing off. Steve and Natasha traded looks. They could tell this was bad.

"What's gonna happen to me?" Clint wondered as he stared at the adults around him. Pepper smiled and pulled him tighter into a hug.

"It's gonna be okay. Tony and Bruce will fix this," Pepper soothed. Clint relaxed into her arms. Natasha rolled her eyes and stormed out of the room. She couldn't take a second more of this. Steve watched her leave before turning to Pepper. The CEO nodded after the assassin. After spending so much time with all the Avengers, she had learned most of their 'silent language,' so Pepper knew that Natasha needed a friend right now. Frowning, Steve sighed, glanced once last time at Clint and then turned and followed after Natasha. "I swear. Everything will be okay, soon."

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**4556 words here. BUWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! So... Apparently readers don't mind when you torture a character, have him raped, turn him into a hawk, make him sick with an unknown disease (or three), or even have him suffering from mortal wounds and potentially dying. But you leave turn him into a kid and have him left alone in a store with the threat of being removed from the home! Jeez, no favorites and follows after that. At least I didn't really get angry reviews, but still. Now I know there's a line, sadly after I crossed it, but oh well.**

**Anyways, that's just a joking rant that I've been telling my husband all week. I kept waiting, and waiting. I mean, I knew at one point sooner or later I'd hit a chapter where I wouldn't get any new favorites or follows... I just didn't expect it to happen at the same time and especially in a rather early chapter considering I'm currently working on chapter 30ish.**

**Baby Clint was doing well all week until yesterday where he developed Pink Eye in both eyes. So, today none of us really left the house and have been trying to give the poor kid his eye drops which must really hurt because he screams like the dickens when we give it to him. But we know it's for his health and he needs to get better for this time next week, WE PLAN TO BE IN FLORIDA! We are planning on going to Disney World! YAY! Now, this shouldn't mean I'm going to miss a week. I'm not planning on it. Especially considering both chapters needed to post on the two Fridays I will be away are already done, they just need editing. We shall see though.**

**In the meantime. Review responses!**

* * *

**Favorites: ** (absolutely none for this chapter)

**Followers: ** (*pout and sigh* none for this chapter)

**Reviews Responses:**

_Niom Lambiose _\- I hope you enjoy the angry Pepper and really upset Tony here. It's what you asked for. Sadly, the rest of it we'll have to wait and see how that goes.

_sammygirl1963_ \- I love Clint angst. Don't know why, but I do. The more he suffers, the better I feel, I guess.

_pottyandweezlbe89 _\- I always want to hug Clint. But then again, I keep putting him in these situations. And yeah, kinda Bruce found. But at least most of the others come back. Except Thor. I can't write Thor. So, I tend to ship him off to wherever sounds most likely so he isn't really there. Or he just doesn't ever speak and I tend to forget about him. In this story, he isn't back from Asgard yet.

_MO-5431 _\- Glad you think it's still awesome. I'm feeling a bit better lately but my husband has to wait till the end of July before his doctor can even tell him the official diagnosis on his illness and then move onto the next step. You're welcome for the entertainment though and have a fantastic day back.

_m klindt _\- Glad you think it's great. Hope it stays that way. lol.

_marsupeler _\- YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS (laughs for days). Actually, not really. I just laugh every time I see this review. Hope you at least liked it.


	14. Chapter 14

"Natasha!" Steve cried as he chased after the assassin. Behind him, the door to Clint's room slowly closed. A quick glance down both ends of the hall had Steve spotting the red head rushing toward the far right side of the end of the hall. He was slightly stunned to see her moving to the stairs rather than the elevator. But he assumed she just needed to let off steam and a confined area like the elevator wouldn't help. Natasha faltered in her walk away but didn't stop. Steve groaned. He was going to have to chase her down and she was more than likely in a really bad mood. And meeting Natasha in a bad mood was not the best decision, but currently his only one. This day was just getting better and better. "Wait! Natasha!"

"What!?" Natasha snapped, finally stopping and spinning around to glare angrily at the super soldier. She was standing just before the door to the stairs, easily able to slip by. Steve frowned at the look and the knowledge that she could still escape. But he knew she wasn't mad at him, he hadn't done anything thought would piss her off. He moved faster to get closer to the spy. Her glare sharpened with each step he took toward her. He watched as she shifted her weight back and forth, a sign that she wanted... No, needed to move.

"What happened back there?" Steve asked when he was close enough to be sure she couldn't run. Natasha scoffed at his words, intent on not answering, and turned away from him. Without thinking, Steve reached out and grabbed her arm so she couldn't move without him tightening. Her gaze locked on the hand. For a moment, Steve regretted grabbing her but then figured there wasn't much she could do that would cause permanent problems. Seeing that she wasn't going to answer him, Steve pressed. "Natasha, please."

There was a long pause. Steve almost wondered if he had lost her. If she was still going to run or if she was actually going to speak. The worst would be if she turned and attacked him. After training with Natasha and Clint since Manhattan, Steve knew that she could easily break out of his hold. One of them may end up injured for a bit, but she could escape. But then he felt the muscles in her arm relax even though the rest of her was still wound tight.

"Clint," Natasha started. She looked away from his hand and to the stairs. Almost like she still wanted to rip her arm from Steve's hand and continue running away. Steve watched for a few seconds before he noticed all the fight leave her body. She sagged against him. Knowing now that she'd stay and talk, he let go. As he assumed, she didn't run but she didn't continue talking either. She just leaned on him. Steve cleared his throat.

"What about Clint?" he pressed again. No comment. "Is it the fact that he's a kid?" Natasha shook her head and looked up at the super solider. Her green eyes were filled with confusion and worry. Steve partly felt guilty for making her speak.

"No... I mean..." Natasha began. She paused to take a deep breath. As she released it, she looked away again. Steve waited another second and as he went to speak again, she looked back at him. He could tell that as much as it may hurt her, Natasha needed to get this off her chest. "When we first moved into the tower, Clint would only show himself if I was around. He trusted me to watch his back."

"You're partners. It means a lot for him to trust you. We were strangers," Steve explained. Natasha shook her head again. The soldier just wasn't getting what she was meaning. Natasha groaned, trying to figure out how to state it.

"It was more than that. I stopped taking long term missions so I could get him used to the team. This one was going to be one of the first ones where I could be gone for over a week..." Natasha muttered. Steve frowned as he thought back. It was true that she was never gone for long. And if she was, Clint was normally sent with her. He just hadn't noticed before. A fact that made him mentally cringe. As the leader of the Avengers, he really needed to step up and pay attention. So much seemed to happen to his teammates behind his back. "Clint had joked the night before that something was going to happen. I blew it off as nerves. That he didn't want to be alone with everyone. It made me feel better when I heard that you and Bruce were going to be gone."

"Because Clint would be alone with Tony?" Steve questioned. Natasha nodded. Steve smiled lightly. And here he was thinking it was bad that Clint and Tony was left alone. Yet Natasha, a basic expert on both men, thought it was okay. Originally that is.

"Tony and him are so alike. I figured they'd get along best. And then... While away, Fury calls and says that Bruce is missing."

"Fury told you?" Steve interrupted. Natasha smirked and nodded. "He told us that he never told you.

"I know. I wanted it that way. I wasn't worried it. I knew that Clint would be on the job. He'd find Bruce. Hell, he was the one who found Bruce in Calcutta," Natasha mentioned. Steve blinked a few times in surprise. He didn't know that. I mean, he knew where Bruce was found and that Natasha had gone to him. But he didn't know that Clint had been the one mainly tailing the doctor. "I knew something was wrong long before we returned."

"So, what is upsetting you now?" Steve pondered. He waited for her to answer but wasn't surprised when she didn't. Sometimes emotions can get so wrapped up in someone's mind that they couldn't tell why they were upset. So he sighed and thought about it. Everything that had happened since they arrived in Stark Tower. And then it dawned on him. Clint didn't go to Natasha for comfort when they were in his room. He had relied on Pepper. Sympathy flooded his system as he realized her problem. "Clint has no memory of the years you guys spent together."

"I know..." Natasha snarled but stopped when Steve shook his head. He could tell just from her voice that she didn't understand what he meant. She continued snarling lightly at him as he spoke but stopped when the words registered in her head.

"Right now, he has more memory of Tony and Pepper than of the rest of us," Steve explained. Natasha turned away. Her eyes were beginning to sting and she didn't want to be blamed for 'caring'. Steve gave her a soft smile even though she wasn't looking. Out of all the Avengers, Steve had spent most of his time with Natasha. He knew, no matter how hard she tried to hide it, Natasha did have feelings. She did care. And he was nice enough not to say anything about it. "At six years old, he didn't have the partnership that you used to have. He wouldn't know."

"I GET THAT!" Natasha snapped. Steve's eyes widened in surprise as Natasha backed away. A gasp escaped threw her lips before she visibly seemed to fold into herself. Steve sighed. He was beginning to get the real issue here. It was something that he only recently began suffering with.

"You thought your bond was stronger than this? That even memory loss wouldn't separate you?" Steve said. Natasha didn't show any sign that she had heard him. Steve rolled his eyes. For one needing help, she really wasn't keen on receiving it. "Do you love him?"

"Love is for children," Natasha automatically scoffed. Steve chuckled at the now familiar saying. Honestly, Natasha had thought that that would have ticked him off enough to make the soldier stop talking to him. Seeing that he wasn't, Natasha moved away but didn't outright rush off. A sign that Steve took as her wanting more help figuring out what was bothering her so much.

"Do you 'care' for him?" he tried. Natasha hesitated. He nodded, having figured as much. Now, he just needed to go deeper. "Do you... Uh... Envision your life with him?"

"I could see us fighting side by side, till the end," Natasha admitted, looking to the stairs again. She had once mentioned that to Coulson. And Coulson had agreed that he saw their trio sticking it out. But neither ever mentioned it to Clint. Steve shook his head as an amused smile covered his face.

"No. I mean, if you stopped working for S.H.I.E.L.D and the Avengers. Started a family. Do you see Clint as the one you'd do that with?" Steve described. Natasha stiffened. She had once or twice thought about settling down. Her dreams never fully erected the man she wanted. But Clint was always also in them. He just wasn't with her. Normally, he had his own family. Slowly, she shook her head. Steve nodded to her. He had seen the signs in the past.

"I see him... More... Like a brother or... Family friend... Not," Natasha explained, pausing to try and get the correct words. Steve chuckled lightly and pulled her into a hug. She stiffened for a moment before sighing and relaxing into it. It felt nice. Nicer than she would have thought.

"Don't worry, Tony and Bruce will fix this. If anything, Clint might be even more willing to hang out with the rest of us," Steve pointed out. Natasha snorted, already picturing what that would look like. Part of her didn't want Clint to be close with the others. But the rest of her knew it was for the best.

* * *

The next couple of days passed in a blur. No one really saw much of each other outside of certain groups. Tony and Bruce pretty much locked themselves up in the lab, determined to solve the issue with Clint before it got worse. Pepper spent her time at SI, dealing with media backlash of Tony leaving Clint alone in the store. Steve went about his daily business, not realizing that everyone else was avoiding each other and the main situation. Natasha took over Clint's old role. She hid in the vents, spying on everyone to make sure she knew everything that was going on. Clint... Well, Clint never left his room.

For some reason, Clint had gotten it into his head that Tony had left him in the store because of something that he did or said. The boy figured making OCFS take him away was easier for Tony, rather than actually saying that he didn't want the ex-archer. So, Clint locked himself away. Spending every second wondering how he could fix it all. What could he do to convince Tony to keep him?

It was on the fourth day after the other Avengers learned of Clint's issue when Pepper finally got an afternoon off. She had quickly escaped SI and told JARVIS to block all calls to her and to Tony unless it was from S.H.I.E.L.D or OCFS. It didn't take her long to reach the main communal living room and in a stressed out huff, she dropped down onto the couch. Over the past month, she had gotten used to Clint being around this floor. Whether he was watching TV, eating, reading or what have you, he normally was out on the communal floor. So, it took her only a few seconds to realize that he wasn't there. In fact, it looked like he hadn't been there for a long time.

"JARVIS? Where is everyone?" Pepper called to AI, sitting up and looking around. All around were signs of neglect. A light coat of dust coated most of the furniture and the TV remote was where Clint had last left it. Even the kitchen showed signs that no one stayed in it long. She sighed deeply. It was like when everyone first moved in all over again. And more than likely, like last time, she was going to have to be the one to bring them together.

"Sir and Dr. Banner have not left the lab since Dr. Banner's return. Captain Rogers is currently on schedule with his training in the gym. Agent Romanoff is hiding in the vent over the lab. Judging by her current vitals, I would say that she is asleep. Clint Barton has not left his room since you left to deal with Stark Industries," JARVIS answered. Judging by his extreme attention to detail, Pepper could tell that this had been going on for a long while. She grimaced.

"Has anyone spent any time with Clint?" The rage she had felt when finding out what Tony had done to poor Clint was slowly returning. Her hands tightened into fists as she wondered who would be best to hit in this moment. Who would actually get it through their heads that they couldn't do this now? There was a kid who needed constant attention and they weren't giving it.

"I am sad to say that no one but you have physically checked on him. Agent Romanoff has watched him from the vents above his rooms but has not spoken to him since finding out what happened. Captain Rogers had listened in through the door but, like Agent Romanoff, has not spoken to him," JARVIS replied. Pepper shook her head. This wasn't going to be something that she could easily fix. She knew that each Avenger had their own horrible history with parental figures but... For some reason she just assumed that they would know better when it came to Clint's current wellbeing. "Judging by OCFS reports, Karen is to come pick Clint up tomorrow afternoon. Possibly earlier."

"Oh god," Pepper moaned. JARVIS didn't reply. Swallowing her fear and depression about the situation, she glanced at a nearby clock. It was almost three hours away from dinner time. Dinner... That's it! "JARVIS, I want everyone here for 6 pm. But don't let them know that everyone will be here!"

"Will you be needing help?" JARVIS inquired as the CEO jumped to her feet and rushed to the kitchen. She let a soft smile flood her face as she grabbed ingredients. JARVIS had never actually seen her cook for more than a few people before. But it was actually a rather large passion she had shared with her mother. And thankfully, her mother could have passed as a world renowned chef. Course neither one of them could really make breakfast items that well.

"No. I'll be fine, thank you," Pepper told the AI as she began her prep work. JARVIS silently noted that she seemed to be making a rather large meal. One that would be large enough to cover everyone's surprisingly large appetites. Pleased that the CEO could handle dinner, JARVIS went about informing everyone to be in the kitchen promptly at six.

* * *

Six pm rolled around faster than Pepper had expected. Thankfully mostly all of the food was done. Only one or two things had a few minutes left. It was hard work getting everything done in time. Especially to have it all still be warm when waiting on the longer cooked items. She was about to set the table when a small voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Pepper?" called Clint in his now familiar child-like voice. She stopped and looked around to see the boy standing just past the hallway entrance. He was watching her like his name intended him to be. She gave him a gentle smile.

"Hello, Clint," Pepper greeted. He shifted awkwardly as he wondered what she had planned. The amount of food she had cooked looked to be more than she and he could handle. "Would you like to help me set the table?"

"Uh... Sure," Clint meekly answered before slowly walking closer to her. Pepper's smile warmed as she readied the correct amount of silverware to hand him. As she handed it over to him, she noted that he didn't question the amount. Seeing him walking toward the table, she set about bringing the finished food to the table as well.

"Miss Potts, can I help?" the familiar voice of Steve asked as he quickly entered the kitchen. Pepper had just about been ready to grab a large and rather heavy bowl of mashed potatoes. She smiled and nodded down to it. Without another word, Steve grabbed it and started toward the table. He was slightly shocked to see Clint placing the silverware down. Even more shocking, Clint knew which chair to skip over. The place for Thor. "Hey."

"Hi," Clint replied, not looking up from centering one of the silverware sets at Tony's place. He looked like he was trying to set everything up perfectly. Almost as if he feared for something to be even a smidge out of place. Steve didn't comment as he placed the bowl down and moved back to the kitchen with Clint hot on his heels. They made it back in time for Pepper to push a large stack of plates and glasses over toward them. Steve gave Clint a welcoming smile before helping the boy bring the items over to the table in an effort to finish setting up.

"Something smells good," a voice claimed from down the hall. Pepper smiled. Bruce and Tony were arriving just on time. She knew that it had to be Bruce's fault that Tony wasn't going to be late. Either that or JARVIS was smart enough to tell them a different meeting time, assuming them to be running late.

"I wonder who cooked," a second voice commented as Bruce and Tony rounded the corner. Tony froze at the sight of Pepper reached down to remove a casserole from the oven. An oven that he had never actually seen in use. "Oh my god! She cooks? Wait, is it edible?"

"That she does," Pepper agreed (ignoring the last bit), placing the heated dish down on a trivet to cool slightly. Steve and Clint took that moment to return to the kitchen to grab some more items for the CEO. Clint froze at the sight of Tony. "Can you help move some of this to the table?"

"Sure," Bruce said, pleased at the sight of Steve and Clint. He hadn't seen either in such a long time. Steve quickly grabbed another heavy item before turning around to go set it down. Bruce was quick to join him. Neither noticed Clint still frozen to the spot. But they did notice Tony not moving to help.

"She actually cooks? Why didn't she tell me?" Tony cried, sounding more upset than he looked. The genius hadn't even noticed the boy frozen in place. Pepper laughed. Tony pretty much had a similar reaction to when she tried making some breakfast items. After one taste, he claimed that he knew why.

"You never asked," she stated. Tony scoffed. It sounded like him.

"It should have been in your file," Tony growled, finally moving to check out the remaining food in the kitchen. Pepper rolled her eyes, pleased that she still had some secrets from her boyfriend. She spun to help move some food to the table when she noticed Clint.

"Clint? Is something wrong?" she soothingly murmured to him. The boy snapped to attention and looked at her with wide fearful eyes before shaking his head, grabbing an item and moving it to the table. Pepper frowned but didn't argue with him. When Clint wanted to speak, he would. It didn't take them long before everything was set up at the table. Drinks were filled, everything was set. And as the Avengers began sitting, Pepper glanced around. "Where's Natasha?"

Bruce frowned and glanced around as well. Tony lifted an eyebrow as he began to see what Pepper had done. Steve sighed deeply, drooping in his chair as he wondered what the spy could be doing. Clint looked to the floor, figuring it was correctly his fault that she wasn't there.

"Agent Romanoff left the tower about five minutes after I asked for her presence here," JARVIS replied. While Pepper had assumed that JARVIS had informed every one of the dinner when she first began preparing, JARVIS had known better. He waited until Pepper was done cooking before letting anyone know. "Judging by her reactions over these past couple of days, she understood what you wanted and left so as to not be blamed for missing out."

"Oh Natasha," Steve moaned, dropping his head into his hands in sadness. Pepper frowned and looked down, depressed that her plan hadn't fully worked. Bruce shifted, uneasy. He didn't know what to do to make this better. Tony leaned back in his chair, watching the others as he tried to figure out the best reaction. Clint stood.

"I'll leave if that will bring her back," he loudly stated, mostly telling JARVIS and not the others. Pepper started. Bruce focused on the boy. Steve's mouth dropped open as he looked up. Tony's neck cracked as his head snapped over to face the boy with such speed.

"No, Clint! That..." Pepper began. Clint shook his head.

"I get it. She didn't like me... I'll... I'll go before I cause any more trouble," Clint mumbled, growing more upset with each word. Pepper felt tears starting to form. Bruce looked down at his plate, wondering what the six year old could have already gone through in his life to make him so... So, easily dismissible. Steve jumped to his feet and moved to stop the boy but Tony was already pulling Clint into a hug.

"No. No, you never caused us any trouble, Clint," Tony muttered, hugging the boy to his frame tighter. No one moved, stunned with Tony's visible display of emotion. Even Clint looked thrown by the display but the boy was such an emotional wreck himself, that in the end he fell into the hug. Tony just tightened as he mentally feared that if he let go now, Clint would never return to him. "Never, ever think that you did! Don't ever put yourself down like that!"

"But-" Clint started. Tony pushed the boy back so he could focus on Clint's face. His hands never left Clint's shoulders.

"We all care so much about you. We are all worried about you. Natasha... Natasha doesn't deal with emotion well. She... She avoids it... Much like you tend to do," Tony half joked. Clint let a small smirk escape at the words. Tony gave a soft bark of laughter at the sight. After spending so many days in the lab, Tony had forgotten how much that smile had begun to mean to him. Slowly, the genius lifted a hand to place it on Clint's cheek. Clint leaned into the touch. "Don't let this get to you. Everyone has their own way of coping. And right now, she's working through it. Nothing you did caused this."

"What did?" Clint mumbled, not sure he believed it until he heard the real reason. Tony sighed and looked to the floor. His hand dropped from Clint's face but then the boy held it in his own grip.

"What happened. You remember me telling you that you already lived to be older than six?" Tony asked. Clint nodded. "Well, Natasha knew you back then. So, she's missing her friend."

"Oh... So... It is my fault," Clint naturally assumed. Tony snorted as he rolled his eyes. It was so hard to get through to the boy when it seemed like every bad thing was his fault.

"No. It's what happened to you. Something that you couldn't control," Tony explained. Clint frowned. "Something that Bruce and I have been busy working to fix."

"Have you?" Clint mumbled. Tony shook his head as Bruce moved closer.

"If we had, you wouldn't still be like this. We're working as hard as we can," Bruce said. Clint nodded. "The serum that turned you like this was... Faulty. And so it's hard to fix. We have no idea what could happen to you."

"Do you need anything from me?" Clint wondered. Bruce gave him a smile and placed his hand on the boy's head. Slowly, Bruce shook his head. Clint frowned.

"We just need you to be patient," Bruce answered. Clint nodded. A smile beginning to blossom once again.

"I can do that," Clint replied. Bruce and Tony chuckled.

"Good. Why don't we go back to the table and start eating? Maybe Natasha will join us a little later?" Bruce suggested. Clint nodded. Feeling better, everyone headed back toward their seats. Clint's seat was set further away than everyone else's and so he was the last to sit back down. Seeing his sitting in his normal seat, Bruce and Steve traded a look. They glanced toward Tony and Pepper with a question in their eyes. Tony didn't notice but Pepper did. She shook her head. It surprised them that even as a six year old, Clint seemed to know which seat everyone sat in. In a place he had never been, no one had to tell him which seat belonged to which person.

"Don't forget to save some food for Natasha," Clint told everyone, wondering how they were all going to finish all the food in the first place. But he figured that Pepper knew what she was doing. Nodding, everyone began digging in. It wasn't long after that before Clint felt something wrong. He stopped eating and sat back. Even though he was still a little hungry, something was bothering him. Bruce was the first to notice.

"Clint?" he called. Clint frowned and focused on the doctor as everyone else began to look up to see what was wrong. Pepper dropped her fork in fear. Tony's mouth hung open, his spoon less than a centimeter from his face. Steve's hand gripped his glass as he watched for the signs that Bruce had seen. "Is something wrong?"

Clint's frown deepened as he seemed to internally check out his body for signs of damage. Overall, the boy didn't feel pain or illness. But something felt... Off. Slowly he went to open his mouth but no sound came out. In horror, his sky blue eyes settled on Bruce as the doctor moved to jump to his feet. The doc had seen the signs. Clint had been swallowing multiple times over and over and his eyes seemed to have been twitching before he focused on everyone. But Bruce wasn't fast enough to stop what happened next. Suddenly Clint slipped off his chair and dropped down to the ground. Pepper's screech was the last thing Clint heard before blackness rushed over him.

* * *

**Hello everyone... I'm am terribly sorry for this story being two days late. On Friday I was driving from Massachusetts to Virginia and by the time we stopped for the night, it was Baby Clint's bedtime and we were in one room together. Saturday we drove from Virginia to Florida and stopped at my mom's house were I totally got distracted by catching up with her, visiting her animals (she has three dogs, two cats and a bird), and getting Baby Clint in bed again. Then today, I woke up and visited with my grandmother and my aunt who both live in Florida as well before finally finishing the drive by going to Disney and checking into our hotel. Then unpacking, getting Baby Clint ready for bed and making sure we are set. Thankfully here we have two separate rooms so I can type now.**

**Baby Clint was wonderful on our drive. He had a tablet, phone, leappad, Blu-Ray player and his father all in the backseat to keep him company. The only issues arouse one the first day when he had a nightmare during his nap time, and then on the second day when all three of us were sick of being in the car and he was trying to ask for water but we just didn't have the patience to figure it out until we were almost stopped. He screamed for almost a half hour at that point.**

**Review Responses:**

**I actually lost this list... :( I had typed the whole thing on my phone but when I tried to e-mail it to myself it got deleted. I'm sorry. But thank you for those that Favorited, followed and reviewed. I promise to get you next time I can!**


	15. Chapter 15

Natasha had no idea where she was going. All she knew was that she wanted... No, needed to get away from the tower. From the Avengers. From Clint. She had heard JARVIS tell Tony and Bruce to arrive on the communal floor at 6 pm before the AI mentioned it to her as well, so she knew something was up. To find out what, Natasha had slunk through the vents until she reached the correct area.

For a moment, the spy paused to thank Clint for teaching her all the paths she just took. It was one of the ways she got him out in the end. By forcing him to teach her how to go about the ventilation system in Stark Tower, Clint now had no place to hide from her. So, in the beginning, she would go up and drag him out of the vents kicking and screaming before they would join in on group events.

Having arrived on the communal floor, Natasha smelt a most amazing scent. Something she had never smelt before. Frowning, she moved toward the kitchen rather than the normal meeting area for the Avengers. To say she was shocked at the sight that greeted her may have been an understatement. But... At least now she knew what was going on. Below, Pepper was happily cooking away. The woman was like a bee, buzzing to and fro throughout the room. How she was able to do it all by herself would remain a mystery to Natasha. Pepper looked happy. Almost happier than Natasha had even seen the CEO. A soft smile graced the spy's lips. She released a deep breath before dropping her head lightly onto the vent below her.

"I can't do this," Natasha muttered to herself before slowly backing up toward the hallway. Dropping out of the furthest vent from the kitchen, Natasha sighed again. Slowly, she looked back down the hall as if debating if she should go help Pepper do whatever the CEO was doing. A light humming drifted from the kitchen. It made the spy chuckle lightly and shake her head before pressing the down arrow for the elevator behind her. A few minutes later the elevator arrived and she stepped inside as tears began to sting her eyes. She scoffed at herself before angrily rubbing the offending water away.

"Is there anything I can do for you Agent Romanoff?" JARVIS inquired as the elevator began to move downward. Natasha almost removed a knife from behind her back in surprise but held herself back as she realized what was going on. Slowly, she shook her head, not trusting her voice as of yet. "Shall I inform the others to wait for you?"

"No! No, don't," Natasha stuttered. JARVIS said nothing back. For some reason that bothered her more than if he had agreed. She let out a deep sigh and shook her head. "Can you... Not tell them I left until they ask?"

"Is there a particular reason?" JARVIS asked as if he sensed there was more wrong here than normal. Natasha closed her eyes in sadness before shaking her head again. If she was being obvious enough for the AI to have noticed something then she really was getting soft. "May I inquire as to where you'll be going?"

"I..." she paused. Her shoulders sagged. "I have no idea where I'm gonna go."

"May I trace your phone so I can determine you are safe?" She looked up, surprised. JARVIS had never really acted like this before. Normally, he followed the Avengers directions without question. But then again... Normally after one of their group had an issue like Clint's or been missing for a long time like Bruce or even herself... They all hung out together, almost thanking each other's presence. So it was actually her leaving that was abnormal.

"Sure," she replied to the AI, glad that someone would be watching over her.

"Then I hope you can deal with us all upon your return," JARVIS wished. Natasha smiled lightly. As much as it pained her to admit, she was really glad for the Avengers. She was comfortable around them. Hell, she trusted them and she knew they trusted her. It meant more to her than she wanted to admit. To say that she was bothered by this was an understatement. But even though she was bothered by the fact that she trusted them, it pleased her. She didn't used to be so open to trusting. "When do you believe you will return?"

"Uh... I have no idea," Natasha admitted as the elevator doors opened on the lobby floor of the tower. She gladly began to leave but the doors did not close right away.

"Well, hopefully it will be soon." Natasha nodded as she watched the doors close. Smiling lightly, she turned and walked deeper into the lobby. Slipped outside unnoticed wasn't that hard but once she was outside, she hesitated. She really should stay... But... Just seeing Clint clinging to Pepper hurt more than she was willing to admit. She needed to clear her head.

Natasha ended up wandering aimlessly around New York in a daze. She had no plans... No place to go... So she just walked. For a while, she planned on going to the apartment building that Clint owned downtown. Or maybe going to Clint's and her favorite gun shop over on the east side of town. She was even tempted to go to S.H.I.E.L.D HQ. But she couldn't bring herself to do it. All of those things reminded her of Clint. And Clint was the reason Natasha was out walking.

"What am I gonna do?" Natasha softly moaned to herself. She still could tell it wasn't a good idea to return to Stark Tower. But it was getting close to Pepper's 'secret' meeting time. There was no way she'd return for that, no matter how good it smelt. Her stomach growled in disagreement. Sighing, she realized that she needed food. It had been hours since she last ate. Any time she had tried to get food, someone was in the kitchen, so she would just wait. She stopped as a thought crossed her mind. "Shit..."

Natasha reached down into one of her various pockets of her jeans. Empty... She tried another. Empty... She had forgotten to grab any money or even her credit cards. Hell, she didn't even have an I.D. But... She did have her phone. Slowly, she pulled it out of her back pocket and looked at it. Most of the numbers in this phone belonged to the Avengers. A few didn't but they mostly belonged to S.H.I.E.L.D agents like Hill... But there was one or two that she could call. Without hesitation, Natasha dialed a random number. Two rings in, someone answered.

"Hello, Susan Storm," a soft voice greeted. Natasha smiled.

* * *

"Jeez, Natasha! I thought we'd never see each other again!" Susan called to the spy when Natasha entered the diner that they had agreed to meet at. The blonde jumped to her feet to meet Natasha a few steps from the table. It took a lot of strength from the assassin to not attack Susan when the other woman pulled her into a hug. Instead, Natasha chuckled and hugged her back.

The two had met before Susan had changed into the Invisible Woman. Natasha had been sent on a mission from S.H.I.E.L.D to watch over Reed Richards and his research into the actual event that eventually cause the Fantastic Four. During that time, the two had gotten rather close but since, Natasha tended to avoid the other woman. Thankfully, once found out as a S.H.I.E.L.D agent, none of the Fantastic Four held it against her.

"I never had time to call," Natasha replied as she pulled back from the hug. Susan chuckled at the red head and indicated the other seat before they both sat down. Natasha could see in Susan's eyes that the other woman missed her. It almost made her feel guilty. She really should have tried harder to keep in touch. "I'm sorry to call out of the blue like this."

"Oh posh! Don't worry. Reed was just going on about some experiment he wanted to try. I loved the interruption," Susan admitted, sounding much freer than she looked. Natasha smiled at the woman and shook her head. Susan used to always complain about Reed and now that she lived with Reed, Johnny and Ben, her complaints have skyrocketed. "So, what do I owe this pleasure too? Trouble in paradise?"

"Something like that... But actually... I kinda... Left my wallet," Natasha said, almost sounding similar to begging. Susan actually laughed as she waved her hand in a 'no big deal' sort of way. Natasha knew from her time spying on the group that Susan was actually rather used to this type of experience. Still, the spy felt slightly embarrassed having to depend on the other woman.

"That bad? Then again, you now live with two more men than I do," Susan joked, thinking of a completely different reason as to why Natasha needed to run. Natasha smiled, deciding Susan came up with a pretty good reason. So, she wouldn't have to go into the truth of the matter. "No problem, I know what it's like."

"Thanks," Natasha breathed out. Susan laughed lightly again. Then she leaned forward. Natasha tensed ever so slightly as Susan reached out and grabbed her hand. This was why she had tried to run. She didn't want to talk about the issue.

"So honestly, how bad it is living with Tony Stark?" Susan asked. Natasha shrugged but before she could respond a waiter interrupted them. They paused in conversation to place their orders. Natasha came to this place often enough that she knew her order by heart. Susan must as well, as the blonde hadn't glanced at the menu either before ordering. The waiter nodded his agreement with their choices before turning to go hand it off to the cooks. Once he was gone, Susan focused on the assassin again.

"Similar to Richards, really. Disappears for days, and then shows up with a lot of babble and noise. Crashes for a bit then vanishes again," Natasha honestly answered. Susan chuckled. She had assumed as much. Natasha paused as she thought of the two different scientists. A small smile plastered on her lips as she continued. Comparing the traits of Tony, Bruce and Reed was actually rather interesting. Most of it was the same but there was still a lot that was different. Enough that it made Natasha realize that Tony was actually trying to make the team work. "Though... Tony does try and get involved more. He has movie nights, joins us for most meals, even tends to show for some random training..."

"Well that's great! I'm glad that he shows such an interest in the team," Susan exclaimed as if she could see a notable difference from before. Natasha nodded, feeling much the same as she could see the difference. Then again, she did analyze him when the genius was dying of palladium poisoning. But Tony had always seemed like a bad choice for a team, given his history. Yet here he was, doing remarkably well. Natasha almost wondered what could ruin it? Then she realized, though Tony was trying. He wasn't the only one who needed to try and act like a good teammate. They all did. And then she began to feel guilty. "I wish Reed did..."

"What's wrong?" Natasha questioned, glad to be off the topic of her own team. Her guilt fled her the moment she realized someone was wrong with Susan. Though Natasha had come here to escape them not tell Susan about them to just made the spy feel bad for ditching them. But she knew that she needed this moment away from them even if it hurt. Hurt them and hurt her in the end.

"I don't know. It's just so hard. Johnny is always off doing his own thing. Ben is normally moping around the tower and Reed... He's constantly busy with some experiment or another. It's almost like these powers are splitting us all up," Susan complained. It seemed like each time the duo spoke, it got worse and worse. Susan sighed. "I feel so lost and alone."

"Have you tried saying something to them?" Natasha wondered. Susan gaped at her, almost as if shocked that the red-head would ask. The spy almost laughed. "When Pepper first noticed we all pretty much avoided each other, she began making suggestions to Steve. Telling him to create 'team bonding' events. Slowly, we all began to enjoy and even look forward to spending time together."

"But you all willingly came together. As Johnny loves to point out, we were forced together. We had no choice," Susan muttered. Natasha smiled and shook her head. Of course they would all look at the negative of the situation. And no matter what, the others and even Natasha herself didn't see it as willingly coming together. They joined up to fight Loki, take revenge against a fallen friend. After that, the Avengers could have disbanded. But they were forced together once again thanks to Fury. That man always reminding them of Coulson and his reason for creating the Avenger Initiative. That's what really kept them together.

"You all choose to stay together."

"What?"

"Well, though you were all changed together, more groups of 'superheroes' have also appeared. Any of you could have joined S.H.I.E.L.D, the Avengers... I'm sure that Charles Xavier wouldn't mind any of you on the X-Men team. Plus, you could have all gone solo. But instead, you stay together. As much as it doesn't seem like it, you four are a team," Natasha explained. Susan smiled and perked up. It was something that Natasha had noticed of the group when she spied on them. A lot of times they were so invested in the little issues that none of them saw the bigger picture.

"I guess you're right."

"Don't go comparing your lives to other teams. Each case has their own history, their own reasons, and their own way of working. If that works for you and your team, go with it. But if you really think the dynamics are changing too much, do something about it," Natasha added. Susan nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly. She almost couldn't believe she hadn't seen it before. Their conversation lulled a bit as their food arrived and they began to eat. A few minutes into their meal, Natasha was surprised to hear her phone ringing. Both her and Susan jumped at the noise and reached for their pockets. Susan gave a sheepish smile when she realized it wasn't her phone.

"Trouble?" she asked to cover it up. Natasha shrugged, unsure what was going on as she pulled the device out of her pocket. The caller-ID stated that it was 'JARVIS'. Natasha frowned and answered the phone, wondering what would make the AI call her.

"Hello?" Natasha called, putting the phone to speaker phone as a just in case. Even though Susan didn't exactly know what was happening, if something happened to the other Avengers, Fantastic Four was to be placed on stand-by. And as Clint was a kid currently, Natasha guessed that meant that the Fantastic Four was currently on stand-by. Wither they knew it or not was another matter.

"Agent Romanoff, your presence is required back at Avengers Tower," JARVIS quickly stated. Natasha's frown deepened. Normally, JARVIS tended to give her more details as to why. Susan sat up, hearing the AI's voice through the mini speaker. It took only that for Natasha to realize that Tony must have JARVIS spying on her more than just phone location. She glanced around the room and caught a camera trained on them. Natasha's eyes narrowed in anger for a moment before making a mental note to tell Tony and Pepper. She doubted Tony would do anything but Pepper would.

"Why?" Susan voiced to the AI.

"There has been a development involving Clint Barton," JARVIS replied, not bothered by the other woman's voice. Natasha tensed in fear. With Clint being a kid, there was so much that could have happened to him. Susan's eyes widened in surprise. The few times the duo had spent after Natasha's mission, Natasha had mentioned her partner, Clint. Not much was spoken of the man, but Susan knew that Natasha and Clint were rather close.

"What happened to him?" the Invisible Woman questioned. Natasha shook her head. Clint's de-ageing was an internal problem. Though most of the public that followed Tony, believed that the archer was an adoptee, Susan didn't need to know yet. But, Susan was smart and so she'd figure out the truth sooner or later.

"I'm coming," Natasha growled as she hung up on the AI. Her gaze shifted to face Susan. "Thank you for the food. Hopefully we can do this again sometime, and I'll have my wallet."

"Do you need help?" Susan inquired. Natasha shook her head.

"No, this is Avengers business."

* * *

Susan was distracted as she returned back to the Baxter Building. Natasha seemed so lost, confused. Something that seemed unbefitting for the normally reserved spy. Susan had hoped that it was just her getting used being included in a team now. But that ending bit... The bit with Tony Stark's AI calling and saying something happened to Clint. Susan just knew there was something bigger going on.

"Hey, Su. What's up?" Johnny called, pulling the woman out of her thoughts. She looked to her brother in surprise. He had been silent enough that she hadn't even noticed him when she first arrived. In fact, the TV wasn't even on. For a moment she wondered what Johnny was doing in a room without the TV. "Where you been?"

"Out with an old friend," Susan hinted, moving deeper into the room. Johnny sat up. There weren't many friends that she had that Johnny didn't know. And she could see him trying to puzzle out who she had been with.

"Who?" Johnny asked, giving up on trying to figure it out on his own. Susan smiled lightly.

"An old friend," Susan pressed. Johnny frowned as he stood to stop her from trying to escape out of the room. Susan laughed lightly at the boy as she slipped by him.

"Come on Su. Seriously, who was it?" Johnny groaned, stalking after his older sister. The two continued moving about the tower until Ben came around a hallway corner. "Susan went out on a date!"

"What? You dumped Reed again?" Ben grumbled, not sure if he was upset or not. Susan rolled her eyes. She was more than likely never going to live down dumping Reed all that years ago and ending up dating the man who would become their future enemy.

"No. I saw Natasha," Susan replied, sliding past Ben in her effort to get to Reed. The issue about poor Clint was bothering her. Even though she didn't know the archer well, everyone heard what happened to him and she felt that he needed to catch a break. If Reed could help or even if any of them could help, Susan would feel much better. Even if Natasha never personally asked for help and even stated it as Avengers business, Susan wanted to help.

"Natasha? The red head who spied on us a while back?" Ben wondered. Susan nodded. He frowned for a minute before also remembering when Susan told them that Natasha was also the Black Widow and she was hanging with the Avengers. "Okay. What did she want?"

"Me to pay for a meal, mostly," Susan told the big guy. Ben frowned, that wasn't what he was expecting.

"What, no mission for the Avengers? No asking... Wait, begging for out help?" Johnny called. Susan shook her head as the trio arrived at Reed's lab. They entered only to stop at an arm that stretched across the doorway.

"Reed, honey, let us in," Susan shouted down into the depths. There was a soft shock reply before the arm began retracting. Once it was passed the door, the trio followed it down to Reed's waiting form. He glanced up from his work to see all three of them. Surprised, he backed away from the table and removed his glasses to clean them.

"Something wrong? Did I miss a meeting or something?" Reed asked, knowing he had been really deep into his work and lost track of time.

"No, you didn't miss anything," Susan soothed.

"Except Susan here going out on a date," Johnny interrupted. Susan turned and slapped her sibling on his arm. Johnny called out in pain even as he backed away, laughing at her. She turned back in time to catch the hurt flashing across Reed's face as he tried to morph it into a indifferent look.

"Don't worry Reed. It was with Natasha, the S.H.I.E.L.D agent who had been watching us before," Susan told him. Reed frowned, his mind racing as he tried to place the woman that she was talking about. Susan waited. Only a few minutes passed before Susan saw the signs of recognition passing over Reed's face. "Don't worry. S.H.I.E.L.D doesn't need us just yet. She needed someone to pay for a meal. Apparently something is going on at Stark Tower that made her leave in a rush."

"What could fluster her? I tried so damn hard when she was here," Johnny reminded them as he jumped onto an empty area of Reed's work space. Actually, it was the one area that Susan had claimed in the whole lab so that she actually had time to hang out with her husband. She used to space to get her own work done or pay the bills and other such menial tasks that Reed couldn't get himself motivated to do.

"I don't know. But she had once mentioned a partner of hers, Clint Barton. Stark's AI said that there was a problem with him," Susan mentioned. Reed frowned. Ben shifted his weight, making the floor creak. Johnny jumped off the table to stand up again. If something was going on with the Avengers, they needed to figure it out. There was going to be no more of them sitting on the side line while the Avengers took care of the big battles.

"What could have happened?" Johnny inquired. Reed turned back around to his computer. He frantically began typing away. Susan smiled, knowing that with Reed on the job, it wouldn't be long till they found out what happened.

"What makes you think we should get involved? They seem pretty content on their own," Ben pointed out. Susan sighed and looked over to him.

"Natasha came for help. Though she didn't realize it at the time, she let more slip than she used to. It means she's desperate. And Black Widow doesn't get desperate. The Avengers need us, wither they know it or not," Susan answered. Ben frowned and shook his head. Last time he tried to get involved, Hulk tossed his ass into the Hudson.

"Did Natasha mention Tony trying to adopt?" Reed suddenly called. Everyone looked over at him in surprise.

"No. Why?" Susan asked. Reed backed away from his computer to show a picture of Tony talking to a little boy, who looked about six years old with blond hair and blue eyes. Susan moved closer. "Oh my god. Is he serious?"

"The papers all say that OCFS is on the case, checking out the whole tower to see if he's suitable," Reed declared.

"You've got to be shitting me. He's gonna go through with it?" Johnny wondered. Reed shrugged. It really wasn't up to Tony. The whole thing was up to OCFS.

"And you think Natasha wanted help dealing with this? Susan, what can we do to help them? They're the Avengers. They should be able to handle one kid just fine," Ben stated. Susan shook her head as she focused harder on the screen before her. The report had various other images of the boy and Tony. It also stated that the press only found out after the boy had been arrested for trying to enter a rated R film and fought the police. Tony had gotten him out of that.

"Based on Tony's history, he was already skating on thin ice if he ended up having his own kid. Never mind trying to adopt a kid. That comes with its own set of issues and problems," Reed mentioned. Ben and Johnny looked at him, surprised. Reed shrugged. "I looked it up a while back. According to their rules, if we tried to do it secretly, Susan and I even have a high chance of rejection. Now that the public knows Tony is trying, it's become more of a political issue. If OCFS declared Tony and Stark Tower unsafe, then who out there is safe to send a child too? People might even stop trying to adopt for fear of rejection."

"Guys," Susan interrupted. They looked to her, but she hadn't backed away from the screen. "I don't think he's adopting."

"What? He kept a kid in secret for what, four years? Maybe more?" Johnny joked. Susan then looked back at them. On the screen was a split image. One of the boy and the other of Clint Barton from the Manhattan fight.

"I think that boy is Clint."

* * *

**So the word is spreading around... Dun dun dun... I'm on my last day of vacation here as Disney World, so sad.**

**Baby Clint did wonderful down here. Got to meet some characters (he loved the Disney Junior characters but when it came to Minnie and Goofy, he pitched a huge fit), I rode a bunch of rides (Baby Clint didn't as he isn't big enough and has no patience in lines and my husband was too sick to try and stand in a line), and overall had a bunch of fun. But next week life will be back to normal. Just have to do another two day drive back home. Ugh...**

**Review Responses:**

**Yet again can't do these... SRY! I promise when I am back home I will load these in chapter 16 and mention from which chapter it all came from. I love responding to you guys and I love reading what you are all telling me!**

**Well, until next Friday!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Story is below if you wish to skip my last two chapters of Review Responses...**

**Review Response Chapter 13:**

**Favorites: **LOTRP JOHP13133, fluddershy

**Followers: **beverlie4055, amy. .9, , fluddershy

**Review Responses:**

_Niom Lamboise _\- Glad you think it was excellent. And who knows if Bruce will. But with 30 chapters, won't happen soon. lol

_ 8839 _\- Clint is a good kid. He'll get along with everyone. It's more a matter of will everyone else get along with him. And yup, all the other Avengers but Thor.

_MO-5431 _\- You totally made my day with this. tee hee, better than Oliver Twist. Thank you.

_m klindt _\- Yup. Lovely pink eye. Cleared up now, just in time for our vacation to Disney but boy did he hate those drops. Actually currently writing this in a hospital for my husband. He started getting worse just before we leave. Course the doctors are doing jack crap about helping him so wasted money... oh well.

_sammygirl1963 _\- Thank you for the comments. I loved writing shy Clint as currently Baby Clint does the same thing around strangers. It was so fun. I even loved going back and adding all the Stevie references as they hadn't originally been there.

_pottyandweezlbe89 _\- I feel bad for Thor/Chris too but I can't bloody write him... I'm trying now in later chapters but I'm just afraid that you all won't like it. But I am trying. Just wait for the rest of the story. More people learn of poor Clint.

**Review Response Chapter 14:**

**Favorites: **Tricqi Cici

**Followers: **(amazingly, none. *pout*)

**Review Responses:**

_sammygirl1983 _\- Clint is in serious trouble now. If only it was the serum wearing off. I'm partly sorry for breaking your heart. But it means a lot to me that my writing is causing such a reaction. Thanks for the congrats on my trip.

_Niom Lamboise_ \- Yup, Clint really is.

_amy. .9_ -Brain reboot? Oh, you mean when the brain has to try and fix in the memories of his current age and past age? I thought I made him go through that. Hmm... Sorry to make you weep (well actually, not really). It's like I said to sammygirl1983, it means to a lot to hear your reactions and while it pleases me to hear it, I also feel bad for making you feel it. Does that make sense?

_MO-5431 _\- Glad you liked it. Thank you for the review and have an awesome week.

_Sarah (Guest) _\- Lol, totally lol. The minute I find out about Hawkeye Build-A-Bear, I am stalking my local store until the shipment arrives. And yes, I believe Jeremy Renner's facebook mentions filming a movie. I think it might be an Avengers film or maybe Mission:Impossible. I can't really remember and currently can't find the post he made about which it was. And thank you for your words of wisdom. I'm trying to raise my boy right, very hard in this day and age when there is so much research telling you what you could do wrong to hinder your child and it's basically everything that happened to me as a kid. Oh well. (BTW, your e-mail didn't come through. makes it that when you put a full address in, it deletes it. Next time, add a space, but PM rather than reviewing so that way no one else will see it.)

**Okay, all done. Onto the STORY!**

* * *

"How the hell did this happen?" Natasha screamed at the others in outrage. Bruce flinched at her voice, wishing he could just run and disappear before the angry Russian caught him and killed him (Hulk be damned). Tony took an involuntary step backward at the sound of her voice. He was never big on hand to hand combat, never mind with a highly trained assassin. Steve looked down to the ground, embarrassed that he couldn't do anything to help. Pepper hugged the small form in her arms closer as it jerked at the sudden noise. She softly whispered calming words to the form as she tried to keep the poor thing asleep.

Natasha had returned to the tower only a few minutes prior. Which, in actuality, was close to about thirty minutes after the actual event. The others had watched in horror as Clint had dropped out of his chair during dinner before anyone could catch him. He fell into a full blown seizure that had every jerk and motion changing his form down, smaller and smaller. The boy was thankfully unconscious for the whole event and when it was over, the Avengers had stared at Clint. Well, stared until the now little baby boy began screaming. Pepper was first to grab him, she swaddled the baby's (now much) larger shirt around him and began rocking him until Clint had calmed down after twenty minutes. Then to scare them all again, he seized one final time before dropping off into a deep sleep.

"We don't really know exactly what happened. One second we were all eating, the next he collapsed and began seizing. By the time we got to his side, he was already shrunk down to... Bruce said around six to, maybe, nine months old," Pepper whispered, keeping her voice soft and calm to settle the sleeping babe in her arms. Natasha tensed at the other woman's natural mothering instinct. Something about it just set the spy on edge. Almost like Natasha could sense that she didn't have a mothering instinct and so it bothered her that Pepper was so quickly falling into the proper role. In fact, every time Natasha set eyes on Clint, her natural instinct was to run the other way.

"The serum I made was unstable in the first place. All the tests I tried with it were done on my blood. The Hulk's presence in my blood made it hard to figure out how it would react each time. That's why I left to see my old friend. He was supposed to have something that would help me. But seeing as that was a set-up, I'm back to an unstable serum with no idea what is going to happen to our friend next," Bruce explained. Natasha stared at the doctor as if the man was making excuses for his missing homework. Bruce took a step away from the assassin before continuing on. "Even if I could figure it out, I have no idea how to even start going about reversing this. Hulk was the one who did a lot of reversing or fixing it when it involved my blood. And there is no way I'm giving my blood to Clint."

"So, there is no way we can predict what is going to happen next?" Steve asked. Bruce nodded.

"When Hulk was involved, the serum sometimes de-aged my blood two or three times, sometimes even more. A few times, it de-aged, re-aged, and de-aged again until JARVIS said that my blood basically 'died'. More times than not, my blood would de-aged until it completely vanished. But again, this is all with Hulk trying to fight what was happening. For all I know, Clint could de-age in the next second and become a sperm and an egg," Bruce answered. Everyone glanced at the still resting form of Clint. They had no idea what to say to that for a moment. But then Natasha looked back at the doc.

"So, you're saying he'd basically... Vanish?" Natasha questioned in anger and shock. Bruce sighed but slowly shook his head. Tony frowned. That wasn't exactly true. And being the person he was, Tony felt the need to correct the statement.

"JARVIS explained it as, de-aging out of existence," Tony replied. Clint made a soft moaning noise that had Pepper beginning to bounce the babe again. Slowly she moved away from the conversation so as to not having the voices disturb him again. Tony shifted to follow her in an effort to help soothe the surprisingly still sleeping baby. Bruce moved away, figuring his constant internal battle with Hulk might actually be stressing Clint out. Steve bounced back and forth on his feet as he debated how to ask Pepper for a turn to hold his friend and teammate. Natasha scowled at them all. Internally, she wanted to be helpful and care about Clint but at the same time, she wanted to run far away and never deal with any of this.

"Is there any way to stop it?" Steve wondered when nobody continued speaking and Clint had long since calmed back down. Bruce looked to the super solider. He had tried everything that he could think of. Tony had even made many suggestions but... Without really knowing how the serum worked in the first place, there was no way to figure out how to stop it. Steve frowned when Bruce finally shook his head. "There's nothing we can do?"

"Tony and I have been working hard to solve this but... It was basically untested. All I had were simulations from JARVIS of what might happened to normal people but I tended to focus on Hulk. And any test we try and do now on Clint's blood or even another human's blood will be following after what is actually happening to Clint. There is no way to predict what will happen next or even what could happen with any possible solution," Bruce yet again explained. Steve shook his head, no believing there was nothing they could do to help their friend. Natasha walked a few steps away so she could catch her breath. Tony pulled Pepper into a hug as she cradled Clint closer to her chest.

"So, what can we do?" Steve muttered, wanting to do something. "We can't just wait till he de-ages out of existence."

"No, I'll go back to work on turning him back," Bruce stated, moving toward the elevator. Tony jerked up in surprise at the fact that he wasn't going to be involved in helping. With a frown, he followed after. Bruce looked back and noticed the genius was following. The doctor shook his head. "Clint got really close to you and Pepper. It's best if you stay with them. He needs constant attention now. Besides, I think I spent too much time explaining the serum to you then actually working."

"But," Tony complained. Bruce again shook his head.

"We have no idea what could happen. Clint needs some sort of constant right now. No matter what happens. I still have the data that I sent out for help. I'll check to see if anyone got back to me," Bruce mentioned. Tony frowned and looked back to Pepper and Clint. Clint was already moaning and making upset sounds in his sleep and Pepper was desperately rocking the boy. Tony stepped closer and Clint began to settle again. Noting the difference, Pepper moved toward Tony. Once by the genius's side, Clint drifted back off into a deep sleep. Tony sighed.

"Fine..." Tony consented. Bruce nodded before calling the elevator up. Once it arrived, he stepped inside. The doors closed without another voice speaking. With Bruce gone, Steve shook his head and looked back to Tony and Pepper. Pepper looked up at Natasha and Steve.

"When he wakes, he's gonna need food... And a diaper… I can feel the wetness of the shirt," Pepper pointed out. Natasha frowned as she glanced at the CEO and billionaire. Her eyes widened in shock as she understood what the CEO was getting at. Steve made a confused face. Pepper sighed. "He'll need a crib. Sheets, clothes, medicine, toys... My god, he needs everything!"

"So... You want us to go get it?" Steve asked as it slowly dawned on his what Pepper was saying. The CEO nodded.

"Tony and I can't leave him right now," Pepper pretty much begged. Steve glanced at Natasha and then to Pepper and Tony. With a sigh, he turned back to the elevator and pressed the button to call it back to their floor. Pepper gave the soldier a small smile before moving toward the living room. Her arms were beginning to get tired. Even as small as Clint was, he still got heavy after holding him for so long.

"I'll text you a full list," Tony told the remaining duo before slowly chasing after his girlfriend and the stirring babe. Natasha glanced at Steve as the elevator arrived again. Steve stepped inside and held a hand out to keep the doors from closing. Natasha frowned.

"Seriously?"

* * *

"How exactly did we get suckered into doing this" Steve groaned to himself as he followed behind Natasha. They had just arrived at the store and upon entering it Steve was stunned at all the random product everywhere. In the 40s, it had never seemed so bad. The amount of choices in product since waking up... He was a totally overwhelmed with it all. Natasha ignored most of it and headed straight to the back right hand corner of the store. It had a wall devoted to diapers and wipes. Steve was quick to chase after her when he got over his shock. But then another thing shocked him. "30 dollars? How does anyone expect people to be able to afford diapers for children?"

"Most people can't these days," Natasha muttered as she scanned the aisle for what they needed. The back wall was the diapers and on the other side was the wipes. She figured that maybe Steve could handle the diapers.

"Jeez. Pampers, Huggies, Luvs, Earth's Best, BabyGanics, Bamboo Nature? Oh... Newborn? Size 1? 2? Oh boy, they go up to a size six!" Steve cried as he looked at the numerous options for diapers. Natasha snickered, beginning to finally see some enjoyment out of this whole situation. Steve roamed up and down the aisle as he tried to figure out what was best. He was almost looking for a sort of label that said which was the best diaper to get. Meanwhile, Natasha began picking through the wipes in a similar effort. Neither of them wanted to get something bad for Clint. "What do I grab?"

"Clint's rather on the small size, so I'd go for a size one or two. Actually... Fuck it, this is on Tony's dime. Just get one large box of each size. When we find out what size Clint really is, someone will come back out and get more," Natasha suggested, remembering Bruce saying that Clint may de-age more or even possibly re-age. She glanced at the wipes. Pampers, Huggies, Luvs, Baby Silk, Boogie Wipes, Earth's Best, Johnson and Johnson, Wet Ones... Natasha groaned. This was going to be a long trip. Steve nodded. "Pampers in usually pretty good, or so I've heard."

"Okay," Steve replied before focusing on just the Pampers. He sighed and looked back at Natasha who was stuck in her own confusing predicament. She had settled over by the Huggies area and Steve could see at least six different types of wipes. He smiled lightly. "Baby dry, swaddlers, cruisers, sensative?"

"God! Swaddlers for all I care!" Natasha snapped before reaching out and grabbing a random box of Huggies Natural Care wipes. Steve chuckled lightly before grabbing a few small boxes of the Pampers Swaddlers and placing them in the carriage alongside the Huggies wipes.

"Huggies?" Steve questioned. Natasha growled at him. He raised his hands in defense. "Just saying. I was told to get Pampers."

"Mixing wipes and diapers doesn't matter," Natasha snarled. Steve smiled as they moved down to the right wall of the store. This area held the formula mixes and purified baby water. The duo froze at the sight that greeted them. If making the choices on the diapers and wipes were hard, the choices for formula was worse. And Natasha knew that if they chose wrong here, Clint might end up getting either really sick or not the right amount of nutrients to keep going. Steve looked to Natasha.

"Is he still young enough to need formula? Can't we just give him food?" Steve wondered. Natasha sighed, wishing that was the case.

"Pepper said that Bruce guessed he was around 6 to 9 months old. So, he needs breast milk or formula until he's 1 years old. And considering Pepper and I aren't producing any milk, we need to get formula," Natasha smartly explained. Steve frowned at the attitude coming off the red-headed spy but nodded just the same. They turned to look at the different formulas. There was at least ten brands of formula, each with at least a regular set, a soy set, a sensitive set, and some even had two or three other types. It was just too much. Steve looked back to Natasha.

"Well?" he asked but she just seemed as lost as he did. Steve sighed as an employee in a purple vest turned and headed their way. He was a shorter blonde haired man with brown eyes and unpopped pimples all over his face. "I think we need some help."

"Hello there," the employee called right after Steve spoke. Natasha and Steve quickly turned to face him in surprise. No one tended to catch them off guard. It must have something to do with the store and all its randomness. "My name is Jared. Can I help you two lovely folks out with anything today?"

"Yes," Steve replied as Natasha scowled at the employee. Jared just smiled at her and didn't seem a bit perturbed by her unpleasant attitude. "Our friends just recently adopted a six to nine month old baby boy. They asked up to pick up some essentials for them. One of those things happened to be formula but we don't know anything about what he needs."

"Did they mention a preference or if they knew what he had been given before?" Jared inquired. Steve shook his head. It was true, Pepper and Tony had just asked for formula. They never said what brand name or special type. Not that any of them knew if Clint needed a special type. "Well, typically I find that mothers tend to lean the boys toward the brand Enfamil. And for now, I'd stick with the regular brand. After about five days, if he seems a bit... Cranky, ill, or otherwise not right, I'd check with a doctor and find out what to switch to."

"Thanks!" Steve declared before grabbing the formula that Jared recommended. It was tossed in with the diapers and wipes. Jared smiled.

"Will you need any other help?" Jared asked.

"No, I think we got it from here," Natasha scoffed before turning the carriage down the next aisle and stalking off. Steve winced and gave Jared a sad smile. Jared waved it off.

"Well, if you need any more help, look for anyone in a purple vest," Jared told the super solider before walking off. Steve smiled once more at Jared before rushing after Natasha. She was quickly grabbing some sort of baby dish soap.

"What was all that about?" Steve asked her. Natasha turned back to look at him.

"What?"

"The thing with Jared? You seemed to get really mad with him," Steve pointed out. Natasha scoffed again and moved on. She grabbed a purple bottle of baby wash and baby lotion that may have mentioned 'bed time' on it. Steve sighed figuring he wasn't going to get anywhere with her. Silently, he watched as Natasha kept grabbing random items off the shelves and tossing them into the cart. He frowned, wondering when babies became so expensive and needy. "Are you sure we need all this stuff?"

"We aren't even halfway through," Natasha snarled, aggravated that she was stuck with this type of job. Clint and her were close. She should have stayed in the tower and watched over the baby. But everyone claimed that Pepper should do it. Natasha just didn't get why Clint wasn't close with her anymore. Steve's eyes widened in shock. He glanced at the carriage and then back to Natasha and back to the carriage again. She couldn't be telling him the truth, could she?

"Seriously?"

"Yup," Natasha mentioned and looked back to see his stunned face. Frowning, she looked back at the items she had collected. Diapers, wipes, formula, soap, lotion, pain medication, teething ointments, laundry soap, diaper rash ointment, toothbrushes, baby pureed food and some solid snack foods. And to think, this was only the back corner of the store. She still had to hit the front of the store and buy some more things that Tony and Clint had missed on the initial shopping trip, when Clint was six years old. Natasha sighed and gave Steve a soft smile to try and calm him down. "Why don't you go look for a crib for Clint?"

"A crib? But, he already has a bed," Steve muttered, glancing toward the center of the store that was split in half between clothes and furniture. Natasha chuckled lightly, beginning to feel better about going shopping. It was kind of hard to stay mad about the situation when Steve seemed so lost and confused.

"Clint is too small to stay in a bed by himself. He'll roll right off the side and more than likely hurt himself. We wouldn't want that," Natasha pointed out. Steve grimaced but nodded his agreement. He began to walk away from her before stopping and looking back.

"How do you know all this?" he wondered. Natasha tensed. She mostly didn't know it. Actually, to be honest, she had thought it was all pretty much common knowledge when it came to kids. Now, she wasn't so sure. Steve watched her for a moment before his eyes widened. "Is that why you ran? Cause you felt that Pepper had a better-"

"Let's talk about that later. We need to finish shopping before Clint wakes up and demands food. Pepper and Tony don't have anything to give him," Natasha replied before walking further down the aisle. Going off of Bruce's suggestion of Clint's possible changing age, she grabbed all types of baby food so that they'd be better prepared for the future. Steve sighed, wishing he could do something for Natasha. She needed to know that just because Pepper took care of Clint right now doesn't mean that Natasha is bad at being a woman, or even a mother. Shaking his head, he headed for the furniture section of the store. He was determined to buy the best crib in the world for Clint.

* * *

Natasha watched silently as Steve stalked off. With a deep sigh, she continued moving. The list continued on and on. Bottles, brushes, toys, clothes, silverware, towels, bibs, and so much more. Half of it she didn't even know where to find it or what to get. But she sure as hell wasn't going to ask for help again. She needed to prove that she could do this. Needed to prove that it was possible that she knew what to get on her own. But as she walked the store, allowing Steve time to analyze every crib that he saw, Natasha quickly realized she was lost.

"New mom?" a woman kindly asked. Natasha jerked to attention in surprise. Beside her stood a rather hefty looking pregnant woman with a carriage that held what looked to be a three year old boy. The boy giggled at Natasha as he played with strings that dangled off his mother's shirt.

"Uh, kind-of. My friends just recently adopted and asked for my help in getting items," Natasha admitted, not really lying to the woman.

"Do you need any help?" the woman inquired. Natasha was tempted to shake her head and walk away but after glancing again at the boy and the woman's rather rotund stomach, she nodded. "What do you need, hon?"

"Bottles," Natasha admitted. The woman smiled and together the two walked to the front of the store.

"Personally, I liked Avent Natural bottles. They don't leak and when my son was teething, they were soft to chew on. Here is a set that's actually pretty cheap," the woman stated. Natasha chuckled.

"Not looking for cheap. Just want to make sure it's good," Natasha muttered. The woman laughed.

"Everything here is good. You'll find though that no matter how much research you do on getting the best thing for your little one, they'll choose what they like. You may find that Avent is the best bottle the whole world makes but your little one won't drink from it. Instead they choose Tommee Tippee. All you can do is guess and pray," the woman told her. Natasha nodded as she added the set of Avent Natural bottles. She grabbed a few more sets of three bottles in multiple sizes and then grabbed various sizes of nipples. "How old is the little one?"

"Uh... We think about six to nine months," Natasha replied. The woman chuckled.

"You don't need to get all that right now. You have time," she laughed. Natasha nodded.

"I... Uh... Like to be prepared," Natasha lied. "Thanks."

"No problem. I'll be around if you need any more help," the woman answered. Natasha nodded and watched as the woman walked off. Slowly she began going through the aisles. At first she kept looking for the best brand to get but then the woman's words hit home. Clint may not want the best brands. Heck, he may not even need it all. Sighing, she just began tossing in items that was on the list. Sometimes she bought two or three of the same item just with a different brand name. As she told Steve earlier, it was on Tony's dime.

* * *

"So what are you looking for?" a male voice asked. Steve jumped. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you."

"No, it's no problem," Steve replied, turning to face the same employee from before. "Jared, right?"

"Yes, sir. You looking to buy a crib?" Jared wondered. Steve nodded. "Do you need it today or can you wait for it to ship?"

"Uh, today," Steve answered. Jared nodded before leading Steve over to a computer terminal that sat in the center of the crib area. He began quickly typing away until he came up with a list of three or four cribs. Then he twisted the monitor to show Steve. Steve blanched. "Uh, which one is best?"

"Well, customer reviews gives this on a five star rating so, I'd say that one," Jared told the super soldier as he pointed to the crib that looked to cost almost 400 dollars. Steve grimaced but nodded that he would accept that price. "Okay, I'll go get that and I'll bring it up front for when you go to check out."

"Okay, thanks," Steve said before turning to go find Natasha. Jared chuckled.

"Do you have sheets at home for the mattress? Actually, do you even have a mattress?" Steve blushed. "The mattresses are over there." Jared pointed to the section just beyond the soldier. Steve nodded. "And on the wall behind me is a variety of sheets."

Steve turned to look. Jared watched as the soldier's mouth just dropped open at the selection. The employee chuckled lightly at the look. "Wow..."

"Do you need help there too?" Jared jokingly called. Steve frowned before shaking his head.

"No. Just... Overwhelmed," the Captain admitted before slowly walking around the desk to get a good look at some of the sheets. Luckily half of the selection was clearly meant for girls so Steve quickly ruled those out. But the remaining amount of selection was still more than the solider accounted for. Behind him, Jared continued chuckling.

"Do you have a changing pad? What about an area to change the baby? Then you'll need covers..." Jared explained, trailing off as he tried to think of everything Steve might need. The soldier cringed. "Don't worry. I can help."

Together the two trailed off to attempt to get everything the Avengers would need for baby Clint.

* * *

Natasha finished shopping in the front area rather quickly and noted that her cart was overflowing. With a deep sigh and a mental note to remind Clint to do something to pay Tony back when he returns to normal, she moved to the registers. She wasn't planning on checking out yet, but she needed to make sure no one would steal from her cart as she grabbed another and continued shopping.

"Are you ready to check out?" a woman at the register called. Natasha focused on her.

"No. Actually, my cart is full. Can I leave this here while I grab another?"

"Sure. I'll watch it," the woman stated. Natasha nodded before pushing the cart to the side and turning back to grab another. As she reentered the store, she checked over the list. Most of it was now in the cart but there were a few things left. Spotting Steve in the back of the store with a handful of items, she smiled. He could handle it. Especially while trailing after a store employee who seemed to be pleased with helping Steve get the rest of the items they needed. Scanning the list again, Natasha noted in big bold letters was **CLOTHES**. She smiled. Oh yeah, she could totally handle that.

* * *

**Yeah, Natasha can totally handle buying clothes much better than Tony... Right? 4,309 words this chapter. Sorry for the epic message up top but I wanted to respond to you all and PMing everyone just doesn't seem right. Especially when one of my reviewers was a Guest.**

**Baby Clint loved his trip to Disney. Didn't like the ride back so much... Fought us a bit near the end of day one and day two was miserable for all of us but we got through it. Going back to Daycare this week was tough as Monday and Tuesday he didn't get to go to work with my husband and me and see his 'Hopa' (the name we use for my dad). But Thursday he got to play with water tables, sprinklers and other cool things that seemed to make today much easier.**

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**Review Responses:**

_Niom Lamboise _\- Glad you thought it was great.

_sammygirl1983 _ \- I'm glad I have you on edge. Actually, that entire ending sequence was added just before I posted as I realized I wouldn't hit my normal word count without it. And the whole time I was writing, I feared I wasn't getting the characters down as I had seen in their movies. But everyone seemed to like them (thank god). Yup, Disney is over. Actually, it was funny. Saturday I was checking out of the hotel and tripped on a sidewalk step-up thing and hurt my knee so my vacation got extended by a day so I could have it heal a little before doing a two day drive. My mom was (slightly) happy about that but I'm still in pain even almost a full week later. *pout*

_MO-5431 _\- Glad you liked it. Have a fantastic week, lol.

_pottyandweezlebe8_ \- I love for the same reason. I also love how it's not only contract issues but I could take a completely different fandom and add these characters to that as well. I'm a big fan of Avengers/Supernatural. Sorry having problems login onto your phone. I hope you were able to fix it shortly after this.


	17. Chapter 17

"OH MY GOD! WHY IS HE STILL SCREAMING!?" Tony cried over the loud screams of a cranky, hungry and still tired baby Clint. Pepper was walking back and forth across the living room, rocking Clint in her arms in an effort to calm him down. But so far it hadn't worked. Pepper knew it more than likely wouldn't, but she just felt that she needed to do something, anything really. Just whatever it took to calm the babe down. Unconsciously, she knew that Tony wasn't helping her as he was freaking out just as much as Clint was but if the genius left the room then Clint screamed even louder.

About twenty minutes or so after Steve and Natasha left to buy the soon to be needed items, Clint woke up. At first, Clint seemed content to just lay in Pepper's arms and Pepper and Tony spoke about SI news over him. But then he began to get hungry. And like all babies, Clint couldn't communicate in words yet, so he did what babies do best. He began crying for food and hadn't stopped since. With no baby food available to the duo, Tony and Pepper could only stare at Clint and pray for a miracle. But what Pepper thought was worst part of the whole event was that Clint's blue eyes stared at her with an intelligent look that pretty much seemed to say 'I can't stop but I want to cause I understand we have no food right now'.

"He's hungry and he really needs to be changed, again! But I can't do anything until Natasha and Steve get back! We don't have the items to take care of Clint right now!" Pepper called over the cries. Tony gripped his head in desperation. He was really starting to get a headache. And he was also beginning to really understand why a lot of parents got so frustrated or stressed with their babies. It almost made him wonder why anyone would want to be a parent, never mind a parent of two or more kids.

"Should I go get another towel or something?" Tony yelled. Pepper nodded and watched as the genius slipped off toward the adjoining bathroom. Clint's screams grew slightly louder until the genius returned with an old purple towel in hand. Pepper laid the baby on the couch. "Not on the couch!"

"Tony, seriously?"

"Yes!" Pepper rolled her eyes before shifting Clint to the floor. She removed the currently wet towel that was wrapped around Clint underside before grabbing the new one that Tony blindly waved toward her. He had been doing this each time that Clint needed to be changed. After the first time, Pepper had quickly gotten over the fact that she was changing her friend's (basically) diaper). Throughout it all, Clint continued to cry. "Why didn't that stop him?"

"I told you, he's hungry!" Pepper snapped before lifting Clint off the floor and resuming walking about the room. Tony groaned and looked down at the wet towel. Pepper had been silently dealing with the others before but not this one. With a nod, Tony mentally noted to remind her to get it later.

Unbeknownst to the duo trying to calm the screaming Clint, Bruce walked down the hallway and into the living room. He was also holding his head but for a different reason than Tony. Bruce had a bit of green tinge to his skin, so he was trying his best to force Hulk to stand down. Hulk, who had sensed that something was going on long before JARVIS called, had been on edge most of the time since Clint had turned into a kid. And now that Bruce had gotten onto the floor and heard Clint's cries, Hulk was determined to help. But as the doctor looked over the situation before him, Bruce was certainly glad he held back and came up to see what was going on.

"JARVIS said you guys might be needing help?" Bruce shouted over the screams. His voice sounded pained and rough. Each second he stood there, staring, the harder it was to hold Hulk back. Unconsciously, Bruce understood that Clint was crying for food. He moved toward the kitchen as Tony spun around to face him and Pepper glanced up from making cooing sounds to Clint. Both were surprised to see him and they were both astonished at the green skin that Bruce was now toting. Bruce pointed to Clint. "Hulk doesn't like the screaming."

"Should you be up here then?" Tony questioned but was largely ignored by everyone.

"Clint is hungry, but we have no food," Pepper declared, figuring it was best to get Bruce far away if Hulk didn't like Clint's cries. She knew that the baby would only get worse. Bruce nodded before turning and heading deeper into the kitchen. Pepper and Tony traded looks before Pepper nodded her head toward the kitchen and Bruce. Tony sighed, knowing that Pepper was pretty much demanding that he go and check on the doctor. Slowly, he followed after, but not before he checked his wrists for the bracelets that called his newest Iron Man suit to him. Pepper backed away from the kitchen but continued to pace and rock as if it made a difference. Indeed, as soon as the genius was out of Clint's sight, the cries increased.

Though the kitchen was basically connected to the living room, the sounds of Clint's cries were greatly diminished here (even though Clint's cries grew louder in the other room). Tony sighed in relief as his headache began to calm. Even Bruce didn't seem as green here. He already had gone into one of the lower cabinets to pull out a blender that Tony didn't even know he had. Then again, since the others had moved into the tower more and more items began appearing that Tony didn't remember owning or buying. The genius almost figured the blender maybe was his or someone else owned it but left it on the communal floor for everyone to use. Either way, the item surprised Tony. As Bruce set it up, Tony moved closer to the doc.

"You gonna be okay?" Tony wondered. Bruce sighed as he thought of what to tell Tony. It was frightening to come upstairs and hear the screams just before Hulk demanded release. Bruce had been just starting to see the tower as a safe place. But if he couldn't control Hulk while Clint screamed, Bruce may have to leave so as to not cause harm to anyone, particularly the baby. Just more reasons as to why he couldn't start a family. Slowly, the doc slipped by Tony and headed to the fridge.

"Hulk wanted to help... He thinks that Clint is in danger but he just... Just didn't understand that he couldn't help," Bruce explained as he grabbed a few apples from the fridge. He sighed again as Hulk let an annoyed roar loose in his head. While it was much easier to control the 'monster' now that Clint could barely be heard but still... It terrified Bruce to know that something as simple as Clint crying to potentially cause him to lose it. Tony winced when Bruce began to turn a darker green for a moment before shifting back to normal. With the amount of times that the genius had 'toyed' with Bruce's control over Hulk, Tony knew what the coloring meant.

"No offense to the Hulk, but what does big green think he can do for Clint?" Tony asked. Bruce shrugged as he made his way back to the blender and tossed the apples in. Spinning around, he reached for an upper cabinet, near the fridge and removed a glass. Tony frowned before looking around. This was becoming really abnormal behavior. "What are you doing?"

"Making Clint food," Bruce mentioned as he filled the glass with water and then added it to the blender. With the glass's reflection, Bruce could see Tony's confused expression. Sighing, Bruce turned around to face the genius. "Around this age, kids... Well, babies, are normally given pureed foods so that they can try different textures. It also helps show signs of allergies. He isn't as dependent on formula as most people would think."

"How do you know how to make purees?" Tony muttered before Bruce could set the power on. Bruce froze as he was brought into his memories of childhood. Tony said nothing as he waited for Bruce to naturally drop out and return. It thankfully didn't take as long as either thought it might. A few seconds after it started, Bruce shook his head.

"My... My mom used to make purees," Bruce admitted. Tony's frown deepened as Bruce hit the power button. The genius focused on those words, trying to find the hidden meaning. Pepper entered the kitchen as she heard the blender start up even over Clint's cries. Amazingly, Clint calmed at the noise and began to hold his arms and hands out as he clenched and unclenched his fists in a grabby motion at Bruce. Bruce chuckled at the boy before focusing completely on the blender. Pepper sighed in relief and gently sat down on a stool, making sure to support Clint in her lab. Clint slapped his hands on the counter, trying to demand the food be handed to him right away.

Tony smiled at the baby. He backed away from Bruce just as the thought hit him. S.H.I.E.L.D's history on Bruce mentioned possible child abuse. None of it could be proven as of yet but... Tony didn't want think any more into it. It was hard enough knowing of his own father's lack of skill. Never mind thinking back on Clint's history with parental figures. It was almost like one couldn't be a part of the Avengers without at least one bad parent. Tony shook his head, there was no way he could focus on this. It was really bad idea.

Bruce ended the blender after a minute or so. By then the apples and water had mixed into a mush that seemed to greatly resemble applesauce. Thankfully this was a better option. Bruce knew there was no added sugars or preservatives in his puree. With a deep sigh, he began to spoon the concoction into a bowl before pushing it over the island counter over to Pepper and Clint. Right away Clint reached for the spoon but Pepper got it first and scooped a small bit for Clint. The ex-archer gave the CEO an angered look but proceeded to eat without protest.

"When I was a kid, I had to wear dentures in school. No one knew cause they looked real enough but... At home, my mom forced me not to wear them. She said that it would make Dad feel bad. It never did. He never seemed to care. Heck, he never seemed to really look at me," Bruce muttered, leaning against the island as he watched Pepper gently try to spoon feed Clint. Each time she seemed to hesitate too long, Clint would lean forward and shove the whole adult sized spoon into his mouth. Everyone seemed to understand that his mom had to puree all his food as he basically had no teeth at home. "Before Hulk... Most of my teeth were fake. But... Since Hulk came into my life, for some reason I got another set of teeth. Thankfully, they haven't had any issue."

"Well, no matter how you learned, thank you for making some, Bruce," Pepper told the doctor as Clint took another huge bite of puree. Pepper frowned at the babe but when Clint seemed to be able to handle it, she shrugged and gave him another bite. He seemed to be eating faster than she expected him too. A glance at Bruce showed that he didn't seemed bothered by Clint's possible abnormal eating abilities, so Pepper just continued on. In fact, he seemed rather pleased about Clint's impressive appetite.

"It's no problem really. Mostly I came up cause JARVIS said Clint was becoming to be too much for even him to handle and then... Well, Hulk wasn't going to calm down until he was certain that Clint's needs were taken care of," Bruce replied. Pepper nodded, not surprised about the ulterior motive. Tony sighed and leaned down on the island next to Bruce. Bruce glanced around at them before focused on Clint. Now that he had food, the babe seemed much more content. Hulk settled back down but there seemed to be a lingering promise that he'd return with a vengeance next time this happened. Bruce sighed. He was safer in the labs. "If you need any other help, just call. I'm not sure how much I can really do and my work is mostly all JARVIS testing my theories but..."

"Do you need any help?" Tony questioned when Bruce trailed off. Bruce shook his head and turned away from Clint.

"To be honest, I have no idea what I'm doing. Most of what I did to create this serum was guess work and even then on myself. Trying to figure out how the serum is reacting to normal genes and then fixing it... I'm basically down to trial and error. Thankfully JARVIS is great at analyzing and predicting. Otherwise, I'm pretty sure Clint would be dead a hundred times over by now," Bruce mumbled before walking off. Clint turned and gave the doctor a half wave which made Pepper and Tony smile at him but they both felt bad for Bruce. The poor doc had no idea how to fix their friend and to make matters worse, now Hulk won't even really allow them in the same room together. Tony sighed as Bruce rounded the corner to the hallway and vanished.

"Damn... What are we gonna do?" Tony grumbled to himself. Pepper sighed herself and continued to feed Clint.

"All we can do for now. Basically take care of Clint," Pepper replied. Tony groaned and dropped his head onto the island. Clint chuckled at the thud. It made Tony look up at the boy to see a small smile. Relieved that it wasn't crying, Tony did it again. Yet again, Clint chuckled. Smiling, Tony did it a third time. Clint still chuckled. But when Tony went to do a fourth time, Pepper reached out and placed her hand between Tony's head and the island counter. Tony looked up at her. "Should we... Maybe... Mention this to S.H.I.E.L.D? They might have someone who could help Bruce."

"Honestly Pep... I'm afraid they'll take him away or... Even kill him," Tony muttered. Pepper sighed before gasping as something came to her mind. Tony frowned, wondering what was going on. Clint, realizing that Pepper and Tony wasn't paying attention, dug his hands into the bowl of the remaining apple puree before sticking them into his mouth.

"Oh my god! JARVIS said Karen is coming over tomorrow! What are we going to do about Clint? He isn't six years old anymore!" Pepper cried. Tony's mouth dropped open in shock. He hadn't thought about OCFS. Everything had just happened so quickly after rescuing Bruce that the worker hadn't even been on his mind. It was a little scary how that tended to happen. Tony looked down at Clint who had clearly finished the puree that Bruce had made for him and he looked to be drifting off again. The genius grimaced at the mess that the babe had made and prayed that Natasha was smart enough to get soap and towels and such.

"I guess we can only hope for the best. It's not like I can stop Karen from coming in. She knows we have a kid here and... I guess she and her bosses think that he isn't safe," Tony muttered, sounding resigned in the fact that he may never allowed to have a kid. Pepper's eyes teared up before she reached over the counter to place a warm hand on Tony's cheek. The genius gave her a soft smile as he leaned into the contact. He was lucky to have her. No, he was lucky to have everyone in his life right now. They all meant so much to him and he apparently meant so much to them.

"I think we should tell S.H.I.E.L.D, if only to get OCFS off our case," Pepper mentioned. Tony tensed at the idea. But as he thought about it more, he could see that Pepper had the right idea. S.H.I.E.L.D did need to know about Clint. Even if it meant losing the archer to them. Tony tried to hide his smirk when he picture Nick Fury and Maria Hill standing side by side with baby Clint in Hill's arms. Pepper looked down to the ground before focusing back on Tony. "Should we call them tonight?"

"Let's wait till Natasha and Steve are back before we make any decisions. It isn't just you and me anymore," Tony pointed out. Pepper nodded as Clint's head fell back into her chest. Both looked down at him and were stunned to see he was fast asleep. Pepper smiled while Tony frowned. "Is he supposed to sleep this much?"

* * *

"We're back!" Steve loudly declared as the elevator arrived at the communal floor. There was no response. In fact, there were no sounds. Steve looked back to Natasha. The spy shrugged. She had been gone as well. There was no way she'd know any more than him. Steve placed the few bags they brought down on the hallway floor. Workers from downstairs were already setting up a lot of the larger items in Clint's room. Well, the room that Steve and Natasha had figured he stayed in before, to some degree, seeing as that's where they had met him when he was six years old. For some reason, Tony never put six year old Clint in his original room. "JARVIS? Where is everyone?"

"Dr. Banner is currently locked up in the lab. Sir, Miss Potts, and little Clint are resting in Sir's room. It has been... Rather trying since your departure," JARVIS noted. Steve and Natasha traded looks. That didn't sound good. Why didn't anyone call them? Were they in danger? Had they been in danger? Was something wrong? Or worse, was someone hurt?

"Rather trying, how?" Natasha asked. Steve looked about for any indications as to what the AI meant. But Pepper had forced Tony to clean up before the duo had gone to rest along with Clint only moments before. There was no sign on what went down. Steve frowned and looked back to Natasha as JARVIS spoke.

"Little Clint spent a great deal of time, screaming. But then Dr. Banner made some pureed apples before returning to the lab. Ever since, Sir, Miss Potts and little Clint have been resting," JARVIS replied. Natasha noted that there was no mention of Clint being changed. She grimaced, wondering how many items Pepper had gone through in an effort to keep Clint clean. Steve nodded before grabbing the bags he left again, intent on setting them up in the communal kitchen so that anyone could have access to these particular baby items. "Shall I inform Sir that you have arrived?"

"No... That's not necessary. We'll see him in the morning," Natasha said, not keen on disturbing a sleeping baby, before grabbing the few remaining bags and following after Steve. She entered the kitchen to see that Steve was putting most of the things away neatly in one or two cabinets that had been surprisingly cleared before. Rolling her eyes, Natasha began joining in. The older more adult foods went in one cabinet while the younger foods went in another. So far, Steve hadn't gotten to the items that involved daily care like medication, diapers, wipes, bottles and such. Luckily there was still the hall closet, TV stand and a few other hidden coves for those items.

"Actually, Agent Romanoff and Captain Rogers. Sir would like to propose a question to each Avenger. As I have an answer from Dr. Banner, Sir, and Miss Potts, all I need is you two," JARVIS intoned. Natasha, puzzled, looked up to the ceiling and stopped working. Steve didn't pause in his work as he called out to the AI. He wanted to get these things put away as fast as possible so he could go check out the work in Clint's room. The Captain needed to make sure that was done as well before it was safe to go to bed himself.

"Well, let's hear it." Natasha nodded in agreement.

"Sir and Miss Potts would like to tell S.H.I.E.L.D about little Clint's current condition. They both feel that S.H.I.E.L.D may have someone who can help reverse this and they may also be able to get OCFS to stand down," JARVIS pointed out. Steve glanced at Natasha to see that the Widow had gone pale. Though he could not tell if it was over the fear of OCFS taking Clint away or what S.H.I.E.L.D may do to Clint. "Though Sir fears that S.H.I.E.L.D may take hostile actions against our young friend, he believes that the good outweighs the bad."

"No... Absolutely not. S.H.I.E.L.D cannot be informed!" Natasha shouted at the AI, shaking her head. JARVIS said nothing in reply. He had told Tony that he believed that Natasha would say as much and even Tony had told Pepper as much. But Pepper still wanted to ask. In fact, Pepper had hoped to have been the one to ask herself. Sadly she was currently sleeping and Natasha had said not to disturb her. Steve stopped cleaning and turned to face the spy. He was slightly shocked at her outburst.

"Why not?" Steve wondered. Natasha looked to him. She could see that Steve didn't understand that S.H.I.E.L.D would do anything bad. Even considering what the group did with the old Hydra tech. She shook her head at him. Why she was surprised that the Captain's trusting nature was getting the better of him, she wouldn't understand until later. But right now, she had to make him understand it wasn't a good idea.

"S.H.I.E.L.D is still dealing with agents that have a personal issue with Clint. Wither from Loki or just his overall attitude, it doesn't matter. Letting even one person at S.H.I.E.L.D know about what happens means that everyone will know within a week and someone is bound to try and take revenge on his younger form. We can't always be there to protect him," Natasha mentioned. Steve frowned. He hadn't considered that. But, as Tony said, there was still some good there. S.H.I.E.L.D wasn't all evil. Even Natasha knew that.

"But if S.H.I.E.L.D does have a scientist that could help fix him..." Steve began. Natasha shook her head.

"Tony and Bruce are consultants for a reason. We don't have anyone like them. The best S.H.I.E.L.D can give us is maybe R&amp;D and Medical. But even they don't have the knowledge to help. It's best if we keep this in house," Natasha stated. Steve shook his head and frowned. He waved his hand to the hallway as if that was the answer. Natasha frowned back at him.

"This isn't 'in house' anymore. OCFS has already promised to take Clint away. We don't know when they are coming but when they do, they are expecting an older boy. When they see Clint as younger, it doesn't matter what we say or do, they'll have every right to take him. Natasha, we need help," Steve explained. Natasha sighed. Steve had a point but she still felt that telling S.H.I.E.L.D was the wrong thing to do. She walked away from the kitchen to think about it. Steve watched her for a bit before shaking his head and returning to his work in putting the items away. It didn't take much longer before he was almost done. At that time, Natasha turned back around.

"Fine... JARVIS, call Fury in the morning and tell him to come over once we're all awake. Oh... And make sure Maria Hill is coming as well. We'll need all the higher ups support in this one," Natasha snarled before spinning on her heel. As she was walking out of the room, Steve called out to her.

"Thanks, Natasha." She snorted and waved a hand over her head in dismissal.

* * *

**4061 words. Sorry it's so short. Kept having a hard time extending it.**

**Real Life Baby Clint is doing good. Still not talking. Still being an over all pain in the butt. But not sick, not hurt. So overall, good. Husband is still suffering. Seeing his doctor on the 29th of this month about possible Crohn's Disease. I'm doing okay. Currently feeling slightly ill. My knee feels fine unless I put pressure on it, so mostly it's just bruised but it's deep and internal so you can't see it.**

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**Review Responses:**

_Niom Lamboise _\- Yup, Clint is a baby now. And now I am totally gonna get confused when you guys post Baby Clint cause I have no idea if you mean my son or story Clint... I get you, cause you put Baby!Clint but if one person forgets that, I'm gonna get sooooo messed up... And now every moment with Tony and ... Baby!Clint is going to be cute (in my mind at least). I'll work on a special moment though. Tell me what you're looking for and I'll work it in.

_sammygirl1983 _ \- Yeah, I totally messed up. For some reason I was thinking that since they were all together it was Avengers again but I was wrong... And you do realize that there are characters introduced in Captain America's movies that will be showcased in Civil War and future Avengers films right? Just like Ant Man, and other separate Marvel Films? They are trying to link everything together. And even the TV show Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D is linking in. AS for the chapter, glad you adore Clint as a baby. This is where I wanted to story to go in the first place. The rest was mostly just a prologue to this point really. God, I remember baby shopping for my little one. The doctors thought he was going to be 9 pounds, then 10, then 11, then 13, and then they said possibly even larger. We had no idea what to get for him, especially in diaper size and clothing size. When we got to the hospital we had like four sets of clothing sizes and prayed that they would help us with diapers. Thank you for the well wishes.

_MO-5431 _\- Prolonged sleeplessness, you know, I don't think I touched on that... Hmm... I wonder how I missed that. Well, hopefully I don't let Bruce get affected as apparently his control over Hulk is already weakened around Baby!Clint. But, who knows where this story will go. Lol.

_Guest_ \- I'm glad you loved this one and everyone one. More is defiantly coming. Especially more Baby!Clint, lol.

_5mairer_ \- Holy crap, totally what I meant... Civil War, not Avengers... Thanks for the correction, lol. Yup. Totally messed that up.

_amy. .9 _\- Oh my god, you laughing at Natasha and Steve for buying all that... You'd be laughing at me for like every shopping trip I ever make for my son then... I think we like overload every time. Every trip I buy at least 100 dollars worth of items. Actually, now that I'm an experienced mother, I realize how much you actual do need and how much you think you need but don't really need. Yes, I made them buy a lot, but I pointed out that they have no idea if he is going to age again or not. I hope I don't kill you before I finish this. Hang on, more fun to come in the upcoming chapters, lol.


	18. Chapter 18

Karen arrived at the tower a little after 7 am. Steve was still out in the city streets, running as he did every morning. Bruce had returned to the lab only minutes after he woke at his normal time of 6:10 am. Natasha had spent most of the night awake, trying to figure out what to say to Fury and Hill over the situation and why it had taken so long for them to contact them for help. She was currently meditating in an effort to get some rest. Poor Pepper and Tony were still sound asleep in their bed. Clint had had a rough night and they barely got any sleep with him stuck in their room. Speaking of, Clint, who had been transferred into the crib, was currently sitting up and staring at the sleeping pair. He was using the crib bars to hold himself up while angrily staring at the sleeping duo. The babe could tell that he needed a new diaper and wanted some food. And as of yet, JARVIS had been unsuccessful in waking them for the past thirty minutes. The AI wasn't too concerned as of yet as Clint seemed content with just glaring.

But the issue with Karen was another matter. JARVIS wanted to lock all the doors up tight and never allow the woman into the tower but he had no commands or protocols from stopping her entrance. So the AI was forced to allow the woman inside. Knowing that everyone was currently unavailable, JARVIS brought Karen all the way up to the communal floor and lighted the way to the living room to wait. Unbeknownst to him, Karen was pleasantly surprised to see the improvements to the floor. Baby gates, outlet covers, table corner bumpers and the like were now covering the entire floor. From the moment that the items arrived, the few Stark Industries staff that was allowed on the Avenger's floor began setting each item up and made sure to clean up any mess left behind.

"So, Tony Stark followed the guidelines I left," Karen stated, mostly to herself. JARVIS almost blew a fuse in anger. If he had a human body, he may have actually slapped Karen. The woman had no idea how close she was to having some sort of electrical accident befall her.

"Sir is intent on keeping Little Clint here. Sir had not previously known about the various stipulations that were required in order to allow such. But as Sir now does in fact know, Sir promises to keep more on top of it all in the future," JARVIS proudly and hotly declared. Karen nodded, not even noticing the amount of rage and pure emotion that JARVIS dispelled into his electronic voice. She almost wanted to feel bad about the accusation and about what was to happen but then she reminded herself that she was doing what was best for the child. This isn't about Tony following the rules. It's about keeping the child safe and healthy. She pulled out a notebook that was in the bag she brought with her. Even though she had orders to remove Clint from the property, Tony and Pepper still had a chance to redeem themselves and these attempts were noteworthy.

"Well, he won't have to worry about it much longer. My bosses have agreed that this is no situation for a child with Clint's background. Too much could go wrong and has gone wrong," Karen replied. JARVIS's circuits sparked in pure rage. So badly did the AI want to shower Karen in the tower's water system that it took the AI a minute or two to respond. Karen didn't seem to notice. In fact, she slowly wandered around as she noted other changes that were made about the tower that she hadn't really mentioned but were nice to see.

"Sir has made mistakes in the past but you shouldn't judge him on those now. Sir had changed and is still changing," JARVIS tried. Karen shook her head and looked to the ceiling. JARVIS noted that her eyes didn't hold any sympathy. The AI imagined this was the look that the villains the Avengers face tend to give. His circuits seized in rage. How he wished he could access the Iron Man armor without Tony Stark present and attack this woman. She was a true villain and JARVIS wanted to take her out.

"Leaving the child at a store to go on some sort of Iron Man duty is a pretty big mistake. One that even a normal everyday parent would have my agency visiting. Seeing as this was already an open investigation, it just pushed us over the edge," Karen explained. JARVIS allowed his CPU to lag a little in sadness. "Children come first. And Clint has already been shown some signs of parental neglect. He needs someone who can give him constant one on one attention. Iron Man and the Avengers just can't do that."

"I understand," JARVIS sadly stated as an alarm ran through his processing. Knowing that his conversation with Karen was over, the AI focused onto the alarm and noted two new guests standing at the lobby elevator. The up button was pressed. JARVIS almost powered down in relief for a moment. He called in greeting to the duo in the lobby, ignoring Karen as she began investigating the kitchen. "Director Fury, Assistant Director Hill. Agent Romanoff shall greet you in the kitchen as soon as she is ready," the AI greeted as he opened the elevator doors. Fury and Hill boarded with no issue. JARVIS knew that by sending them to the kitchen, they may run into Karen. It was important that they understood the whole story and not just what Natasha seemed to have decided to tell them.

"This had better be important. We have an agency to run. We can't always make these personal visits on a whim," Hill snapped as if JARVIS could control when the Avengers called over any number of issues. Though, this was one of the firsts that actually had Fury and Hill leaving a S.H.I.E.L.D office to come to the tower. JARVIS nearly rolled some of his cameras as he wondered why everyone was currently giving him such attitude. It wasn't his fault that they were all gathering here at this time. Sadly, he was just the messenger. A few moments later, the elevator arrived on the proper floor and JARVIS opened it. As the door opened, he caught Hill glancing at Fury. "I don't understand why we put up with these fools."

"The Avengers are needed in this world. No matter how childish they act, they are important," Fury calmly replied as they stepped out onto the floor. Hill rolled her eyes. If it was her choice, the Avengers would be locked up in jail cells until they were needed. Or maybe sedated, just to keep them quiet. Karen, having heard voices that she assumed were Tony and Pepper, moved toward the hall only to have Fury and Hill appear. The agents froze, their hands twitching toward their secret weapons in surprise at the woman's sudden and strange appearance. "Who the hell are you?"

"My name is Karen Mascioli. I work for the Office of Child and Family Services," Karen explained in a hotly manner, one that almost seemed as if she felt that she had better reason to be here than Fury and Hill. The two S.H.I.E.L.D agents traded looks. What was OCFS doing here? None of the Avengers had kids and from what the duo knew, none of them were currently planning on kids. Their minds went over the press releases that Stark Industries had been trying to go over. Tony had been spotted in public with a kid hanging... Could that be it? Karen pressed her hands to her hips. "Who are you?"

"Director Nicolas Fury."

"Assistant Director Maria Hill," Hill responded, sounding just as harsh as Karen. The agent glanced around the area, trying to get a better idea of what was going on. There were 'subtle' signs that things had changed around the tower. Most of the same things that Karen had happily spied earlier. Hill didn't like this at all. The Avengers could afford a distraction as big as a kid running around. Never mind the fact that they act like kids in the first place. "What the hell is going on?"

Karen didn't get a second to reply as the elevator dinged and the doors opened. Natasha rushed out. Behind her, Tony and Pepper stood frozen in place. Pepper clutched a small bundle to her chest. The bundle squirmed a little, just enough for Fury to catch a glimpse of blonde hair and blue eyes. Stunned, Fury sharply turned to focus on Natasha.

"Sir," Natasha greeted to the Director. To Hill, she simply nodded. They never seemed to get along and right now was no different. So it didn't seem to affect Hill, not that she noticed, for she was focused on Tony and Pepper. At the sound of Natasha's voice, they began moving and slowly came toward the group. It was in this moment that Steve, sweaty from his run, appeared from the stairwell. His mouth dropped in slight surprise at the guests as JARVIS had failed to mention their presence to him. JARVIS took this moment to send a message to Bruce in the labs.

"Mr. Stark, Miss Potts," Karen called, ignoring the others that she had yet to introduced too. She figured now that the main 'parents' had arrived, she could conduct her business and be gone for good. Tony nodded to her, his eyes hidden behind a very dark looking set of bags. Pepper didn't give the group her normal warm and happy smile.

"Morning," Pepper instead replied, sounding tired and depressed. Slowly, she moved past everyone to head into the kitchen. No one moved to stop her. Noticing that, Tony stayed on the CEO's heels. Natasha nodded to Fury and Hill, as if to tell them to follow, before joining the newfound family. Steve looked everyone over before deciding it was just best to continue onto his daily routine, which was to head to the kitchen and grab a bottle of water. If someone happened to be in the kitchen, he would stay and talk, but if not, he would normally head off to take a shower. Trading more looks between each other, Fury and Hill stalked after the group with Karen quick to come after. She looked pissed.

"Where is Clint?" Karen wondered angrily as the elevator dinged behind them. No one turned to see who it was. Pepper didn't reply. She looked to Tony but the genius was focusing on the coffee machine, which no one had turned on for him yet because they hadn't beaten him to the kitchen. Natasha leaned against the counter next to the fridge as she watched over everyone. Steve busied himself with grabbing a water and moving off to the side, almost as if hoping to be forgotten about. Fury focused solely on the bundle in Pepper's arms as Hill glanced about, wondering if Clint was going to pop out of a vent or something. A few moments of silence later and Bruce rounded the corner. He paused at the rather impressive gathering in the kitchen. Pepper turned to him and gave the doc a weak smile.

"Bruce, can you make a puree?" Pepper asked as she began going about making a small bottle of formula with one hand. Overnight she had become sort of an expert on it as Tony basically refused to touch Clint out of fear and couldn't seem to be able to understand the rather simple directions. Bruce nodded, thankful for the distraction, before going to set about on the task. He grabbed a few different fruits and vegetables in order to try a variety of foods. Might as well make more while he had the time. Natasha stealthily moved out of the doctor's way to help Tony with the coffee machine as he apparently couldn't figure out how to turn it on.

"What is going on? What is OCFS doing here? Where is Clint?" Hill demanded, beginning to assume this was some sort of elaborate prank. Pepper once again glanced at the Avengers surrounding her. Each slowly shook their heads, indicating that they didn't want to say a thing. With a deep sigh, Pepper looked down to the bundle in the arms. She technically needed to shift him in order to feed him, so she used this as an opportunity. Shifting him around, Pepper aimed Clint so he could focus on Fury, Hill and Karen.

"Clint, say hi," Pepper told the babe. Clint looked up at Pepper for a moment before glancing over his Director, Assistant Director and new found 'enemy' with intelligent eyes. Then he smiled a huge baby smile and began waving his hands around in greeting. Fury's mouth dropped, a first for any of the Avengers to have ever seen. Hill pulled back in revulsion and shock. Karen just stared, wondering if this was some sort of joke or a trick in order to hide the 'real' Clint from her. Clint cooed in a soft of baby laughter type of way as Pepper finished making the bottle. Slowly, she handed it over to him. Noticing it, Clint quickly grabbed for it, pulled it to his mouth and began greedily sucking the formula down like he hadn't been fed in days. Pepper frowned at him before looking to Fury, Hill and Karen. "We... Uh... Had a little... Um... Issue."

"You're joking!" Karen shouted, making Clint jump and drop his bottle to the floor in surprise. He pouted and looked up at Pepper as the CEO sighed and reached down to grab it. She replaced it without hesitation as Karen spoke again. Thankfully, Clint had gotten a little better at controlling his normal baby impulse to cry at every little thing and instead waited for Pepper or Tony to catch onto what he actually needed before crying. "Please tell me this is some hoax!"

"Technically... No," Natasha started. She sighed. "Clint Barton was accidently turned into a six year old boy almost a month ago."

"A month! This has been going on for over a month?" Hill cried in her own surprise. Karen dropped a step back. Hill twitched at the movement, unconsciously blocking the woman's path to the hallway behind them. Fury moved closer to stare at Clint over the island. Clint stared back, a small smile forming on his face around the bottle's nipple. Tony jerked around, a cup of coffee now in his hands and partially drunk.

"We were trying to find Bruce!" Tony defended. Bruce raised his hands in defense, his back still to everyone as he continue going about preparing for purees. Steve placed his bottle of water down so he could shift closer to Pepper and Clint. Clint glanced over at the soldier before turning to focus back on Fury. Natasha shifted to Pepper's other side. Tony stood beside the assassin.

"When... When did... This happen?" Karen stuttered, trying to make sense of this. She wasn't like the S.H.I.E.L.D agents or Avengers. This type of thing was not normal. Pepper looked down on Clint to see he was mostly done with his bottle now.

"Last night. He was with us at dinner. One minute, he was six years old, enjoying dinner with everyone. Then... He dropped onto the floor and turned six to nine months old. We don't really know as apparently he was small for his age," Pepper muttered, stressing the word 'month' as she spoke. Karen's mouth dropped. Fury stood up and backed away to stand by the entry way to the hallway. He seemed calm and content with the situation, a main indicator that he had no idea how to react. Hill shook her head.

"How is that possible?" Karen nearly shrieked, her eyes flickering to cover as many faces as possible. Then she focused on Tony and anger filled her face. "What did you do to him!?"

"It's my fault... When Clint was his normal age... Last month, we were doing some fake training exercises were he chased me around the tower. During one of these events, he cornered me in my lab. In my rush to defend myself... I... I shot Clint with an unstable serum. This serum de-aged Clint to originally six years old, as you saw him, Karen. I tried to fix it on my own but... It was Bruce's serum and he was kidnapped, like that day... and..." Tony told the group at large, cutting off at the end as he glanced over to Clint. Fury did nothing but stare. Hill looked disgusted at Tony, wondering if she could convince Fury that he wasn't fit for the Avengers anymore. Karen looked like she was about to faint. This type of thing just didn't happen in the real world. "Be... Because the serum is unstable, it's hard to find a cure... And... Well, it hasn't entirely settled in Clint's system."

"What does that mean?" Hill growled, angered that one of S.H.I.E.L.D's best agents was now out of commission because he was in diapers. Never mind the fact that it was one of his teammate's fault that he was like this now. She was so sick of the Avengers. In her mind, they needed to be disassembled.

"It means that the serum is leaving Clint's age in a constant state of flux. He could stay this young or he could re-age to any point or maybe even de-age further until it was like he was never born. We honestly have no idea," Bruce described, done with his prep work but not wanting to stop the conversation with the loud blender noises. He sighed as he turned around, wiping his hands clean on a paper towel. "And to make matters worse, I can't find a cure. The serum was most tested on my blood. It wasn't made for humans."

"This is insane! This sort of thing just doesn't happen!" Karen called, trying to wrap her mind around what was going on. What was she going to tell her bosses? What was she going to do? What could she do? It was clear that Clint was in danger but the ones who put him in danger may be the only ones who could get him out of it. Clint dropped his bottle, finished with it. Pepper gracefully retrieved it and placed it on the counter before her.

"You'd be surprised," Steve muttered as Clint suddenly let out a huge burp that made the whole room go silent. Everyone looked to the baby who just happily smiled before letting out another really loud burp. Pepper chuckled at the sound. Natasha smirked, remembering when older Clint used to do the same and try to challenge her into a burping contest. Bruce frowned as he glanced over at Clint. Those were some pretty loud burps and Bruce didn't think babies could be that loud. Steve rolled his eyes but had a smile on his face. Tony snorted as he took a sip from his coffee to hide the huge, proud smile on his own face. Fury raised an eyebrow as he stared the babe down. Hill grimaced, reminded as to why she didn't want to be a parent. Karen took a few steps away.

"I don't understand!" Karen cried. Pepper glared at her when Clint winced at the sound.

"The six year old you met, the one with a strange connection to a possible 30 year old man, is actually that 30 year old. An accident de-aged him and we are trying to fix it. In our efforts to provide a place for the now young boy, Tony and I made some mistakes. Those mistakes caused your group, the OCFS, to be called. We... We were embarrassed about what happened and since we believed we could fix it before any major problem arose, we didn't tell anyone. Apparently we... We should have, cause here we are," Pepper described, shifting Clint as he burped again. Clint grimaced and began to make upset faces. Silently, Pepper began rocking him. Karen just stared before everything fully sank in. She sagged.

"What am I supposed to tell my bosses? They are expecting a six year old boy with the name Clint Barton," Karen mumbled, mostly to herself. Tony shrugged as Clint yet again burped and made a strange face. Pepper frowned and glanced at Bruce. He was also frowning and shifted to get a closer look at the baby.

"Tell them there was a mistake," Tony seriously stated as if it would work. Karen focused on the genius. A minute passed in which time everyone could see Karen was beginning to seriously come to terms with the whole situation. After Manhattan, everyone was actually getting better at dealing with the abnormal. Karen sighed and looked to Clint. He burped again, this time some sort of white substance appeared in his mouth before he started to swallow it back. Bruce noticed it as well as Karen and Pepper. He didn't like the look of it. Karen then formed a plan as she focused to look at Pepper. She gritted her teeth, understanding that more people here meant this might be harder than before.

"I have to take him," Karen calmly told the group. A chorus of cries followed that. Pepper's nearly burst into tears as she held Clint closer to her chest as if she could defend him. Tony shouted in anger as he jumped in front of Pepper and Clint as if Karen was holding them at gunpoint. Bruce backed away from everyone, trying not to let Hulk out as he roared to the surface. Steve stepped around the island to block Karen should she try to move to get to Clint. Natasha shifted to the other side of the island, her hand resting on a gun she had hidden in the small of her back. Fury tensed, his hand twitching, waiting for the right moment to remove his gun and shot. Hill tightened a hand into a fist as she spun to look harshly at Karen. Karen shook her head and waved her hand to the group at large. "Honestly, this just proves how unsafe you all are. Though Clint may technically be an adult, normally. Currently, he is not and as such, he is under OCFS jurisdiction. I bet none of you thought of the types of mental scars you are currently forcing on his right now. He'd be safer elsewhere."

"Clint Barton is one of my best agents. I will not have you take him to god knows where while he needs his teammates to figure out how to save him," Fury hissed, his hand shifting closer to his gun as he stood to try and tower over Karen. Karen focused on him. She dealt with many parents who had anger issues. Dealing with Fury right now was a walk in the park. Now she was shifting back into territory that she knew and was used too. Forgetting that Clint is actually an adult was easier than Karen expected but she was glad for it.

"The way I see it, Clint Barton is a six to nine month old baby. He is not an 'Agent' or an 'Avenger.' He is a baby and deserves to be treated as such. And it has already been proven that you all can't do so," Karen snarled. She stepped forward to go grab Clint from Pepper but Steve moved again to block her path. Karen's eyes narrowed on the soldier. "Don't make this harder than it has to be."

"Clint is in good hands here," Steve stated. Karen shook her head and laughed at the captain. Steve frowned.

"Already, Clint got arrested for trying to enter a rated 'R' film and he was left alone in a store. Who know what else had happened behind closed doors! I mean, look at him now!" Karen snapped. Natasha stepped back to gently take Clint from Pepper. With a soft frown, Pepper allowed such action to happen. Clint grumbled a little at the sudden difference in holding styles but when he accidently rubbed a hand over Natasha's chest and she didn't respond, he seemed pleased with the change. Natasha moved closer to Karen, as if daring the woman to take Clint away.

"The way I see it," Natasha hotly retorted, mimicking Karen's own words against her. Karen snarled, focusing on Natasha's hands around Clint. "Those things happened to a six year old boy. We don't have a six year old boy here. We currently have a six _month_ old boy. Two completely different things. So, naturally, one would assume that that means a new case must be opened for the change."

Karen said nothing back. She just glared at Natasha. It was all true. Karen had reported an older child in danger, no mention of a possible younger sibling or anything. She couldn't take a younger child in unless there were more signs of abuse or neglect and an older child to follow the first report. But, what the Avengers also didn't know, was that Karen didn't specialize in infant cases. Once she left the tower and reported a younger child now stayed there, a new OCFS worker would be put on the case. There was nothing the woman could do. Karen snarled.

"You won't be able to keep him. My bosses know you people are dangerous. Turning him into a different age won't stop them from taking him away," Karen retorted. Clint giggled at the woman before blowing a raspberry, something that the others didn't know he could currently do. Karen grimaced at the sight and turned a dark glare on Tony, blaming the genius for Clint's 'bad' behavior. Tony just smirked back at her. Then time seemed to freeze as Clint suddenly projectile vomited up every meal he had received as a baby onto Karen's front.

* * *

**4348 words. Wow, this story seems to be flying by now. I'm looking back at it going I wrote this in like March and just posting it now! Wow... Hope I can keep up with this demand. I'm stuck on chapter 30 right now. I really gotta get back into writing this! I've been working a lot more on the story that's gonna get posted after this lately. Ugh.**

**Anywho, Baby Clint is doing good. Brought home a cold last week that hit the whole house and I think mine jumped right to sinus infection rather than normal cold but oh well. We've all been overly tired lately even though we've been getting a lot of sleep and not much else has happened here.**

**Review Responses:**

**Favorites: ** LokiRulerofAsgard, haihaleybear, greenmazoku

**Followers:** haihaleybear, Ikuz001, greenmazoku, Baby Hedgehog-Cute but DEADLY

**Review Responses:**

_Niom Lamboise _\- I love how everything thinks that all woman are going to 'fawn' over little babies. Course, I also think I love it even more when I break from that and get to see the reactions from my readers. Now, this doesn't mean I don't think Maria ever would, it's just in this situation, she totally wouldn't. lol.

_sammygirl1963 _ \- Yeah, the crying and trying to figure out why is still going on in my house. Course added into the mix is also random cries of 'All Done' so, not much help. And Hulk being protective, come on. Have to show the big guy's soft side, lol. Now so long as Hulk doesn't appear and try to actually baby sit, everything will be good, lol.

_MO-5431 _\- Thank you for the well wishes. My husband is seeing his doctor this week and we'll hopefully get final answers and maybe even get him some medication to help. As for my knee, things seem to be healing fine, I'm just a worrier.

_ClintEye_ \- I'm glad you like my fanfiction and also like Hawkeye as a character. Every one of my stories features him as a main character so enjoy them, lol.

_Baby Hedgehog-Cute but DEADLY_ \- I update every Friday unless I mention something in an earlier chapter. If I miss on Friday, I normally try to get it in on Saturday. And speaking of health wise, I'm actually suffering from a major head cold/possible sinus infection while typing this lol. Thank you for the well wishes.

_amy. .9 _\- I needed someone who could puree food really and Bruce was the most likely candidate. Then I needed a reason for him knowing and I didn't want it to be like he took care of a kid or school or had a younger sibling, so I went with bad parenting. Yeah, laundry for the staff isn't going to be too pretty after this chapter, lol. And I can't wait to figure out how to turn Clint back... I'm still writing this story even as I post it, lol.


	19. Chapter 19

"That was epic," Tony once again called to the room at large. It had been almost an hour since Clint had gotten sick all over Karen, but Tony couldn't get his mind off of it. Clint was now sitting on the floor with a pleased smile on his face. It hadn't diminished since the scene with the OCFS worker. Pepper and Natasha were still joint cleaning the trail that had been left behind, making sure there was absolutely no trace, outside of the video feed JARVIS saved on every server he could think of. Bruce was standing by the kitchen table on his phone, something he'd been doing since a minute after Karen had left. Steve, who happened to have just returned from escorting Fury and Hill down to the lobby, roughly dropped into an arm chair that faced nearly everyone. The soldier couldn't wipe the small smile off his face before Tony noticed it. Tony sat up to stare harder at the man. "Did you see Hill's face? OR! Even better! KAREN'S!?"

"Yes, Tony. We've all seen the faces. And yes, we know you recorded it," Pepper answered from down the hall. She sounded rather put out, but considering she was still cleaning up after the mess it was no surprise. Tony frowned and opened his mouth. Before he could make a single sound, Pepper continued. "We know you got the angle of Fury and the rest of us, let it go!"

"Do you have to ruin everything?" Tony softly pouted. Steve chuckled, having gotten rather used to Pepper shooting Tony down like this. It was enjoyable to watch no matter how many times it happened. Steve tried to learn how Pepper did it but Tony usually always had some sort of rebuttal for him. Tony glanced up and over at Bruce. "Hey Brucie-bear, I'm surprised you aren't in the lab again."

"JARVIS is running a few tests for me," Bruce replied, shifting his phone down. Before coming up this morning, he had sent various suggestions to the AI in an effort to find which would cure the now little archer. But for now, Bruce had other things on his mind. In fact, he had other plans. A worried look over to Clint made the doc sighed deeply. "I think we need to bring Clint to a pediatrician."

Tony jerked up into a sitting position while Clint's face finally dropped its smile. Steve frowned but didn't want to question to doc. Fury said as he was leaving that S.H.I.E.L.D would cover the paperwork so no one could bother them again, no matter what happened next. Natasha stood, finished with cleaning her area of the mess that Clint made. She had a small frown on as well. All she could think was that they had wanted to keep everything quiet. But now they were going to get even more people involved, it made no sense.

"Why?" Natasha muttered, sounding more like an angered growl. Her eyes narrowed when Bruce looked over at her. Things seemed to be getting worse and worse the longer this went on. At this point, Natasha was ready to take revenge on Tony for the 'death' of her partner. "I doubt they'd have a solution."

"Well, I wouldn't ask them for one... Mainly because, as much as you all seem to believe I am a medically trained doctor, I'm not. Never mind that I haven't had to deal with a patient as young a Clint's current age before. A lot more can go wrong with babies if dealt with incorrectly," Bruce pointed out. Natasha continued to frown but nodded. It did make sense. And the subject of Bruce not being an actual doctor had been discussed many times before but everyone tended to be more truthful around him. Almost, as if they trusted him over the more highly trained S.H.I.E.L.D doctors.

"S.H.I.E.L.D has a pediatrician on staff, or so I've heard," Natasha stated, resigned to the truth of Bruce's statement. Things with Clint were already messed up enough; they shouldn't risk anything else happening to him. Especially if it could be prevented. Pepper stiffened at those words for a moment before going back to work. Her mind getting slightly lost in her own little world.

"Why the hell would S.H.I.E.L.D have a kid's doc on staff?" Tony harshly asked. Natasha rolled her eyes. Tony, the billionaire genius, couldn't even figure out a simple common sense issue. Then again, it had taken many years before someone else thought of this simple solution for a rather large problem.

"Pediatricians could call OCFS if they believe a parent is neglectful. With their agents barely spending any time at home, the pediatrician would have to at least know or understand the agent's position," Steve mentioned, understanding dawning on him. At least if the person was S.H.I.E.L.D, they could understand what was happening to Clint. Natasha nodded. In the beginning of S.H.I.E.L.D, there had been a few problems with families that were just starting. A lot of good agents ended up leaving because of this issue.

"In case you're wondering, S.H.I.E.L.D even has a daycare facility in nearly every base. It isn't rare to find both parents work for the group," Natasha stated, figuring that the genius would ask about that next. Tony stuck his tongue out at her. Thankfully the spy didn't rise up to Tony's bait and instead looked to Bruce. The doctor nodded in agreement with the idea.

"It would be best to call. Clint needs to be seen soon. Who knows what could be happening to Clint right now. For all we know, the serum is killing him and that's why he got sick," Bruce added to Steve's comment. Tony frowned, moving into a standing position. That sounded a lot worse than it seemed. In the genius's mind, Clint just had a little stomach bug and would be fine in a bit. Besides, he was happily playing in the living room.

"I thought babies did that a lot," Tony commented, waving his hand to the mess. Pepper reappeared then, finally done cleaning her part. Thankfully, she had been able to hear the whole conversation so far. She shook her head, fearing for Tony in the future. If Tony thought that this amount of vomiting from a baby was fine, he was in for a rude reawakening. Actually, Pepper was sure that the amount of vomit that she and Natasha had cleaned was a lot for even a normal sized person.

"Babies spit-up. There's a difference. Spit-up isn't considered vomit until it moves a good distance away or is over a tablespoon of whatever. What Clint just did... That looked to be at least his breakfast and maybe part of dinner from last night," Bruce mumbled. "Vomiting could be any number of issues. A pediatrician would be able to narrow it down for us. And they would be better able to see changes in Clint that are abnormal or made by the serum."

"Okay, so that settles it then. Clint is going to see a pediatrician. Natasha, see if you can make an appointment for Clint, asap. Bruce, you can either make more purees or go back to work..." Pepper began listing, needing to get things done. She knew if she didn't step up then they would all end up staring at each other. Clint giggled lightly on the floor and watched the antics of the adults. Steve sat up quickly. Not wanting Bruce to be the only one who knew how to make purees, Steve spoke up before Pepper could tell him something to do.

"I'd like to learn to make purees!" he called. Bruce nodded and waved his hand to the kitchen. He still had a bunch of items set up from this morning. The doc wandered over to it with the super solider right on his heels. Natasha turned down the hall to make her call privately. No need to have Tony shouting random things in the background. Realizing that everyone else was leaving, Tony focused on the CEO.

"What about me?" Tony asked as soon as it was just her, Clint and him. Pepper looked down at Clint. It took a moment before Tony followed her gaze down till he spotted the babe. Clint turned and looked at him. For an extra moment, Clint and Tony just stared at each other before they understood. Clint looked at Pepper in shock while Tony turned to her in outright horror. "No! Pep!"

"You have the others who can help. I need to get to Stark Industries. I have a lot of work to do. I can't keep taking this much time off," Pepper said, secretly wondering how SI would ever handle her taking maternity leave. Tony's look turned desperate before he glanced back at Clint. The genius could only focus on his most current failures involving taking care of the boy alone. Pepper moved closer to the billionaire. She placed a hand on his shoulder, making him look at her and sag down into her grip. "You'll be fine."

"If you think so," Tony grumbled, sounding unconvinced. He turned away from her again. Pepper smiled and then leaned down as if to kiss him.

"Just don't go to the movies or to the store," she joked. Tony looked up at her in surprise. It took a moment before Tony realized what Pepper said. He snorted and looked back down at Clint. The babe smiled in a way that reminded Tony of Clint's adult self. A way that Clint tended to use to show they'd regret what would come next.

"Pep, I don't even know how to change a diaper. What do I do if he poops?" Tony asked. Pepper shrugged.

"Should have helped me last night," the CEO called. Tony had no retort. Clint chuckled before realizing what the duo was saying. Then he turned beat red in embarrassment. Natasha took that moment to return.

"Fury already set up an appointment. It's this afternoon," Natasha called to the room. Pepper nodded. She had a lot to do before then. Figuring everyone was good now, she turned and walked back toward the hall that Natasha had just come from. The spy moved deeper into the living room before looking over to the CEO. "Where you going?"

"To SI." Natasha glanced around before realizing that she had been trusting Tony with watching over Clint. The same thing she had done before that caused OCFS to be called down on the group. With a snort, the spy looked back to Pepper, who thankfully hadn't left yet.

"You still trust Tony with Clint?" Natasha wondered, sounding slightly shocked. Tony tossed his arms into the air. At least someone agreed with him. This was a horrible idea.

"That's what I said!" he cried. The women ignored him. It was easier than getting drawn into a large argument that would prove null-in-void in a few minutes.

"Of course. Besides, you, Bruce, and Steve are here now," Pepper replied before stepping into the elevator. Natasha shook her head as she moved further into the living room and sat down in the arm chair that Steve had vacated earlier. Tony was still staring after Pepper even as the doors closed with her smiling at him. Clint looked to two before his smile turned slightly evil, making Natasha raise an eyebrow. It was a look that she was familiar with and seeing it on Clint's little chubby baby face was slightly horrifying.

"Tony, how possible is it that Clint could retain all his memories?" For a moment, Tony didn't reply. But Natasha couldn't tell if it was because Tony wasn't listening or he was thinking about how best to answer. Before she could call out again, Tony spoke.

"Well, when he turned six, he slowly began to lose his recent memories until he only remembered up to that age. I have no evidence that he would or would not regain all his memories," Tony muttered, turning back to look at the baby. He noticed Clint's face and frowned. Something about it looked eerily familiar. "Should we be worried if he had all his memories?"

* * *

Pepper sighed deeply. She had been stuck in her office all day. Her secretary, Ella, had to go get her lunch and every drink. Heck, Pepper couldn't even remember when she last went to the bathroom. But as she now glanced at her clock, Pepper realized that it was getting close to Clint's doctor's appointment. Knowing that she should get ready and make sure everyone else was ready as well, Pepper began packing up. As she did, her attention was drawn upwards for a moment when she heard a clumsy shuffling above. It took her a moment before she stopped and listened. More shuffling. She sighed.

"Oh, you got to be kidding me," Pepper muttered before grabbing one of the two stationary chairs she used for guests and moving it under the nearest vent. As Clint was notorious for using the vents to climb around, Tony made each cover have a simple button unlock system on each end to make it easier for everyone to access. Pepper hit it and slid her head up into the vent. Clint was sitting right next to the cover and gave the CEO a large smile. "JESUS!"

Clint's smile widened before he waved lightly at her. Pepper frowned as she rolled her eyes and backed down out of the vent. Clint leaned forward, just enough to watch her and allow the woman to grab him and bring him down as well. He seemed rather pleased with the outcome, almost as if he had planned it all. Pepper stared at the baby for a moment before shaking her head and giving him a worried smile.

"I guess I shouldn't be too surprised," she commented. Clint let out a giggling laugh as he had learned rather quickly on that he couldn't speak even though he knew what words he wanted to use. Pepper leaned in close to Clint and switched to speaking in a childish voice. "Tony is probably flipping out."

"Not just Sir. Agent Romanoff, Captain Rogers, and Dr. Banner are rather frantic as well," JARVIS called. Pepper sighed, looking away from Clint in time to miss his frown. He hated that 'baby talk' voice that people used but considering what he looked like, he wasn't all that surprised. All he needed was a way to communicate that he remembered everything. But in this body, that was rather hard. He tried speaking while in the vent but it didn't work. The best he could do was normal baby babble. But as he spent more time as a baby, Clint was slowly realizing that his body was reacting to his commands more and more. "Shall I inform them that Little Clint has been found?"

Pepper looked down at Clint for a moment. His blue eyes looked back at her, almost begging for her to answer no. She huffed and bounced Clint up onto her hip. Clint giggled again at the motion. His head spun lightly but it was pleasant and he almost wanted Pepper to do it again. "How long was he missing?"

"Going on an hour." Pepper grimaced. They had been keeping it secret from her. But what if Clint had gotten hurt? What if only she could have found him? Were they ever going to tell her? She snorted in anger. Glancing down at Clint, she could see that he seemed pleased. Wither he was pleased about being with Pepper or pleased about what was about to happen, she couldn't tell.

"Let them suffer."

* * *

"PEPPER'S GONNA KILL ME!" Tony shouted frantically. He was rushing about the living room, rechecking hidey holes as if Clint would magically appear in one of them. Natasha, who was beginning to suspect what happened to the babe, stood off to the side, watching in a vague sense of amusement. She could never let this get old.

Steve was just coming back from checking Clint's room. He stopped in the hall, looking in on the panicking billionaire with an air of surprise. The super soldier wondered if Pepper really would try and kill Tony. Then again, they all probably want to die if something did end up happening to Clint. He glanced over at Natasha who nodded up to the vent opening above her. Steve snorted lightly. Bruce waited over at the glass door to the balcony, his eyes following Tony's trek around the room. The doc was starting to get a bit tensed up from all the action and realized he needed to end it soon. Hulk was starting to panic just as badly as Tony was.

"I don't think you're the only one to blame in this. We all were watching him, not just you," Bruce tried to soothe. Tony slammed a cabinet door shut as he whirled on Bruce. The frantic and horrified face of Tony would be burned into Bruce's mind for the rest of the time that Clint stayed as a baby.

"SHE ASKED ME TO WATCH HIM!" Tony cried. He stopped for a moment and then pretty much dropped in one himself with a sigh. Steve glanced at Natasha, silently asking her if she believed the genius was done freaking out. Natasha shrugged. Bruce moved a step closer to Tony, ready in case something bad happened. "I was supposed to watch him..."

"You did watch him," Steve pointed out. Tony looked up at him. The genius's eyes were red and beginning to brim with tears. Steve gulped, trying to figure out a solution to this mess. "We all thought he was asleep." Tony shook his head. That was no excuse. Natasha tensed as she heard a door close behind her. She looked back and noticed the CEO. Seeing the assassin looking at her, Pepper raised a finger to her lips and shushed the spy. Natasha smirked and nodded. "We couldn't have known."

"We should have. It's... It's Clint. He always does crazy things like that," Tony moaned.

"Like what?" Pepper called. She had had JARVIS stop the elevator a floor below so that she could use the stairs and sneak up on the others. Clint, wrapped lightly in her arms, wisely kept silent. Natasha didn't even bat an eyelash as everyone else spun to face the CEO. Pepper was now standing right next to the spy. The room was silent for maybe half a minute before...

"OH MY GOD! CLINT!" Tony screeched, making the baby flinch at the noise, as the genius rushed the duo. The genius was so happy to see Clint that he didn't even notice Pepper's angry but amused face. Instead, he just took Clint from Pepper's embrace and tossed the baby into the air before catching him on the downswing. Clint squealed and laughed in glee and surprise. "Don't do that again!"

Clint giggled before he flattened his left hand out, then angled his right hand at a right angle and began tapping it into the middle of his left palm. He focused on Tony and when nothing happened right away, Clint did the motions again. Tony stared at the baby in confusion. It made no sense what was going on. What was Clint doing? Steve frowned. He had a brief memory of seeing something like this before but he couldn't place it.

Bruce raised an eyebrow. That seemed like such a strange reaction to what Tony just did. Pepper crossed her arms, wondering what was happening now. What could Tony have done that made Clint do these motions? Natasha stepped closer to get a better look at what Clint was doing. Noticing her move, Clint turned to face her and yet again, did the motion. He knew that she'd at least understand. She let out a soft chuckle at the motions before smiling.

"He's telling you to do it again," Natasha clarified. Tony looked up at the spy in shock. No one spoke as Clint then turned back to Tony, nodded and did the motions. "It's sign language. He's saying 'again.'"

"Oh!" Tony called, before tossing the baby again. Clint squealed and when Tony caught him, Clint began signing 'again'. Tony chuckled at the motion. "Really?"

_'Again,'_ Clint signed. Tony smirked.

"I can't keep this up all day," Tony muttered, mostly to himself, as he yet again tossed Clint. But before the genius could catch Clint, Steve stepped forward and caught him instead. Clint gave a full out laugh at this and focused on Tony's shocked face. The genius didn't know what to do. In fact, his hands were gripping empty air in an attempt to catch Clint even though the baby wasn't there anymore.

"I can do it all day," Steve said as Clint made the sign. The super solider laughed as he tossed Clint higher than Tony did. Clint's squeal was high pitched than before. Pepper and Natasha both stiffened when Clint went so high that he looked like he was going to hit the ceiling. But Clint's upward motion paused before he began to come back down. On his way down, Clint was already signing. Steve laughed and caught the boy. He took a few steps into the living room with the cathedral ceiling and then tossed Clint again. Clint quickly vanished into the open ceiling area before coming back down, laughing hysterically and signing the whole way.

"Well, I guess that answers his memory issue," Natasha commented. Tony frowned and turned away from Steve and Clint to look at her. Pepper slipped between to two to move closer to Steve, as a just in case. Not that she could really do anything if Steve did indeed not catch Clint. Bruce shifted over toward the hall, watching everyone all at once. "Clint didn't learn sign language until he lost his hearing. That happened... Almost four years ago."

"Oh," Tony mumbled, figuring he should have known that. He, along with Steve and Bruce, were handed Natasha's and Clint's files after the Manhattan incident. Clint had been the one to hand them over while stating it was only far as they had everyone's files as well. Tony hadn't read them as thoroughly as he had Bruce's or Steve's.

"I wonder if he regained anything before he switched ages," Bruce commented, watching Steve and Clint. Tony shrugged, turning back to the solider and baby. Steve had moved to the middle of the room and tossed Clint as high as the room would allow. Clint signed the whole way up and the whole way down. All Steve did was laugh. Pepper shook her head, carefully watching the two, intent on stopping them at any small sign of danger.

"Who knows. I'm more surprised he got them back. To be honest, I thought he lost all his memories forever," Tony admitted. Natasha tensed as a sudden fear of such a thing made her watch the baby closer. Bruce frowned. He hadn't thought about that.

"Maybe it's because at this age he has no memories of his own... So, he can hold all his older memories. But when he was six, he had those memories move to the forefront," Pepper smartly suggested from the living room. Tony shrugged. "I mean. It would be like he didn't lose them entirely. He just lost access to them at the moment."

"Sounds plausible," Bruce muttered. Pepper nodded and turned to look at the clustered group.

"Well, either way. We have to get Clint to his doctor's appointment. We're already running a bit behind," Pepper pointed out. They all looked over at Steve and Clint. Bother were smiling and enjoying the moment they were sharing. Steve kept tossing Clint as high as the room would allow. And like before, each time Steve let go of Clint, the babe was already signing 'again'. Steve would just chuckle at the motion as he caught the baby and then easily toss him back into the air.

"Steve!" Bruce gently called to the soldier. Steve glanced back as he tossed Clint up into the air. Bruce nodded toward the elevator. "Doctor."

"Yup," Steve replied before looking back in time to catch Clint. Clint pouted when he wasn't immediately tossed back up but then he felt the gazes of everyone else. Slowly, Clint focused on Natasha. He took his right hand and tapped it to his left wrist as if he was checking his pulse. Natasha smirked and nodded.

"What did he say this time?" Tony mumbled, already making plans on learning sign language and making JARVIS learn it as well to be able to translate the babe in case Clint needed help and no one was looking at him. But Tony was mostly upset that Natasha was currently the only one who could understand Clint.

"Doctor."

* * *

**4139 words. So apparently in the last chapter everyone loved Baby!Clint vomiting on Karen. That was such a fun scene to write and I couldn't ruin it with everyone's reactions. It was awesome just the way it was. Besides, I think we can all pretty much see in our own minds how everyone reacted to it, lol.**

**So my little Clint is doing wonderfully. Just today on the drive him from Daycare and most of this morning, he has been saying different words. Words like 'More', 'Yes', 'I did', 'Mom', and a couple of others. My husband and I have been freaking out in excitement. (the only time you'll probably ever hear me say this). So, as I mentioned last week, my husband had his doctor's appointment this Wednesday and we were hoping for answers. We still have none but on Monday he is going for a colonoscopy. There we will learn how much damage was done in his intestines and find out the answer of if he does have Crohn's Disease.**

**On that note, Review Responses!**

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**Followers:** Sprocket00

**Review Responses:**

_Niom Lamboise _\- Sorry that I didn't do the fawning Maria. I felt that this was a better portrayal of how she'd react. I might do fawning Maria in another story though. Cause it would be funny to see how the others react to her suddenly going all goo-goo eyed and talking in baby speech, lol.

_sammygirl1963 _ \- I loved writing this chapter soooo much. It reminded me a lot of how I felt the child services person who handled my case seemed to act. I knew I had to do something to her but it didn't want it to come back to the others and then it just hit me and I smiled while typing. As for Maria, it's a lot of fun writing her cause I just don't see her as a baby lover. I see her as just kind of staring from a distance and when it gets close, she pulls out her gun. Never mind the fact that she seems to totally despise Clint in the first place. I'm onto chapter 32 now but just realized I have a part in the middle of this story where I skip three weeks of caring for Clint. So, I'm gonna go back and extend that so I might end this around like chapter 40 or something.

_MO-5431 _\- Thank you very much for the well wishes and I'm glad you are still enjoying everything.

_sk18_ \- I love when that happens in public. I do it all the time and just dare people to ask me what I was reading. Glad you loved it.

_Baby Hedgehog-Cute but DEADLY_ \- As we found out the answer to your question in this chapter, yes... Clint has his 30-year old memory. I think that's what I love most about writing Baby!Clint is that he is actually doing, and aware of, these acts.

_amy. .9 _\- I loved the part where he vomited on Karen as well. It was so much fun to write and so much more rewarding that having someone punch her. Cause Clint throwing up, there isn't anything you can do about a sick baby, punching someone, Karen could sue. It was the perfect fit and only ending I could see to her chapter as soon as I knew I had to write her in. Thank you for keeping my family in your thoughts. We are all feeling much better now. (BTW, I have no idea why won't let me type in your name. I just noticed this happened.)


	20. Chapter 20

The S.H.I.E.L.D pediatrician ended up having no good answers for the Avengers. Well, he did (at least) finalize that Clint was the size of five month old but was closer to maybe nine months old in development and that Clint did indeed have his adult memories. Not very useful information but... Thanks to those adult memories, Clint was more advanced in many skills than he should be. Course, many of the skills needed to walk and talk involved muscles that his 'five' month old body didn't have, so all the Avengers could do was wait for him to grow a little more.

The doctor also explained that even though Clint had memories of being older, they still had to treat him like a baby. Clint's body needed to be treated like an infant. He'd need formula, purees, diaper changes... The doc even mentioned that Clint may have allergies that he didn't have when older. So they had to be very careful with whatever they decided to do. Basically, the group had to act like Clint was a full on newborn.

Bruce asked if the doc maybe had any ideas on how to reverse the serum but... Clint seemed like a healthy, normal baby (it was agreed then that the group was going to treat him like a five month old in case the pediatrician was off in his estimate). There was nothing odd or off about Clint. No signs of the serum even affecting his system. So the doc said he couldn't really help. Of course, he'd tell Bruce of any abnormal changes, but that was normal of any baby and not any special treatment. At the end of it all though, the doc had no answers. Heck, if they hadn't told him that this baby was Agent Clint Barton, the doc would have had no clue.

"So what, now we just live with Clint as a baby?" Tony finally angrily questioned upon their return to the tower. They all agreed not to discuss anything until they were back. And they barely stepped through the door when Tony turned on them. Clint was currently napping in Pepper's arms. He had drifted off a few minutes after leaving the doctor's office and getting out of the car didn't jar him awake.

* * *

"Well, I'll still work on the serum but... I don't see us getting any answers from that. JARVIS and I have exhausted every option," Bruce mentioned. Everyone sighed deeply. They all know that Bruce had been working hard to find a cure. He had even asked most of them for any type of help. It had gotten to that point where he just needed any suggestion, no matter how stupid. Sadly, they had all run out of ideas as well. No one spoke for a minute.

"You seriously have no way of reversing this?" Natasha snarled, beginning to come to terms with this possibility even though her tone sounded nothing like that. Bruce sighed deeply before nodding. Natasha's hands clenched as she debated who to hit, Bruce who created the serum or Tony who injected it into Clint. In the end, she didn't hit anyone. She just turned away from everyone.

"Well... We have everything we need for now. I guess we just have to get used to this," Pepper added. Everyone nodded. It was going to be hard for a while but... They weren't the Avengers for nothing.

LATER THAT DAY

Clint woke up about an hour after the group had returned home. Thankfully, Bruce and Steve had prepared a number of different puree options for the babe. Pepper, the only one still watching over Clint, just calmly strolled into the kitchen and grabbed one that was labeled peach. Clint hobbled along after her. Smiling, she placed the puree into a bowl before shifting it to the table. As Clint ambled after her, Pepper grabbed onto the newly assembled highchair and pulled it over to the table. She then leaned down to pick up the babe. Together they sat down at the table and Pepper began to slowly feed Clint. After each bite, Clint would form his fingers into two little mouths; twist them so Pepper saw the back of his hands before pressing his fingers together. Pepper honestly didn't know what it meant but each time, she'd feed him more food. A few bites in, Natasha came into the room with Bruce.

"It's hard to believe that we can't fix this," Natasha was saying as they entered the room. Bruce shrugged. Neither noticed Clint and Pepper at the kitchen table. Clint turned at the sound of Natasha's voice, making Pepper smear the spoon filled puree all over his cheek. She snorted, glad that the table had some napkins down. As she cleaned the babe's face Pepper noticed that Clint was breathing a bit heavier. She assumed that it was because she was feeding him too fast.

"I've gone through everything. Nothing stabilizes the serum," Bruce explained. After their conversation earlier, Bruce brought her down to the lab to show her what he had done. Understandably, she didn't understand much of what she was seeing. Natasha shook her head before noticing Pepper and Clint. The spy snorted when Clint made his sign. Pepper quickly fed him another bite before actually seeing the others.

"Hey, Natasha, what is he doing?" Pepper asked, putting the spoon down to point to Clint. Clint was beginning to sign again. Natasha smirked.

"More." Bruce and Pepper looked to the spy. Clint squealed gleefully before rapidly signing it over and over again. Natasha rolled her eyes at the babe before moving into the kitchen more to grab a water from the fridge.

"More? Really?" Pepper questioned, surprised. Natasha nodded. Bruce moved closer to the duo. He was noticing that Clint looked a bit pinker than normal and his breathing was getting heavier with every passing second. As Clint didn't seem too concerned, Bruce figured no one but him noticed the signs. Shaking her head, Pepper grabbed the spoon again and continued feeding Clint. Two more bites in, Bruce grabbed Pepper's hands effectively stopping her from feeding Clint another bite. Clint whined before suddenly deeply inhaling. Another deep inhale had Bruce gently probing Clint's throat. "What's wrong?"

"We need to get Clint to a hospital," Bruce ordered, picking the babe up out of the seat. Pepper dropped the bowl onto the table so harshly that the puree splashed onto the table. Natasha's head snapped around in shock. Everything looked fine from where she stood. But as Clint deeply inhaled again, Natasha knew something was terribly wrong.

"What? Why? What's going on?" Pepper demanded, following quickly after Bruce. She couldn't tell what was happening. Yes, Clint was breathing heavy but sometimes she did as well if she accidently ate food too fast. She didn't think it was a big concern.

"He's having an allergic reaction," Bruce calmly replied even as he rushed to the elevator. Natasha and Pepper were quick on his heels. That sounded so shocking that the women traded looks. Thankfully they didn't pause in their stride.

"Oh god! I... I didn't know!" Pepper cried feeling like she should have seen or noticed something. Bruce said nothing.

"What were you feeding him?" Natasha snapped, trying not to mentally blame the CEO for all this. Her voice yet again didn't show any of her hidden meaning. Pepper glanced at her in surprise. She didn't ever think that she could produce such a tone from Natasha. Normally it was Tony, Clint or Thor that made her sound like that.

"Peaches," Pepper answered. The three loaded the elevator and began to head down to the garage. Thankfully JARVIS must have sensed the urgency in this trip as they made it down in record time. Once there, Bruce grabbed the first set of keys he could reach. A quick click of the unlocking remote showed the group that the car picked was a 1969 red Camaro. Thankful that the car was at least a four seat-er, Bruce rushed to the car. "We don't have a car seat set up in that car!"

"I'll hold him," Natasha suggested, quickly taking the still gasping baby from Bruce's hands. Bruce said nothing as he jumped into the driver's seat. Pepper and Natasha squished into the back seat with Clint. Less than five minutes later they were at the hospital.

* * *

"JARVIS? Where is everyone?" Steve called upon entering the kitchen and still not finding another of his teammates. It had been almost an hour and a half since Bruce, Pepper, Natasha and poor Clint had taken off to the hospital. But as JARVIS had not been told to alert anyone, he hadn't mentioned it.

"Doctor Banner, Miss Potts and Agent Romanoff have brought Little Clint to the hospital," JARVIS replied. Steve stiffened. That couldn't be right. He glanced around and noticed a water bottle had been dropped on the kitchen island. Judging by the amount of water spilt, it must have been at least half full. On the table was a bowl of quickly spoiling puree. A hesitant sniff told Steve that it was peaches. He frowned.

"Why was I not informed?"

"I do believe there was limited time. Doctor Banner had claimed that Little Clint was having an allergic reaction to the puree that Miss Potts was feeding him," JARVIS explained. Steve frowned again. He had never heard of someone getting a reaction from peaches. While he had suffered from allergies most of his life, it was never really food based. Just environment based. Could things have evolved that far? Steve sighed before thinking that he should as Tony. Speaking of...

"Does Tony know? Actually, you know what, where is he?" Steve wondered. JARVIS hesitated. Tony had asked not to be interrupted. He was busy in the workshop doing something 'important'. Well, technically, Steve wasn't asking to bother Tony, so JARVIS deemed it as okay to tell the captain.

"Sir has locked himself in his lab and asked to not be disturbed," JARVIS answered. Steve's frown deepened. He feared that something was bothering Tony. In fact, Tony had seemed to blame himself for this entire mess. While that may be true, having his genius mind on their side should be more important.

"What is he doing down there? I thought that Bruce couldn't find a solution for the serum," Steve said. JARVIS paused again. This was what the AI had feared. If he told Steve what Tony was doing, Steve would likely go down and check on him. But Tony wanted to be left alone. Unsure what to do, JARVIS didn't speak. Steve glanced up toward the camera that Tony had pointed out to him long ago. "JARVIS?"

"I am sorry, Sir has asked to not be disturbed," JARVIS explained, repeating his earlier statement. Steve shook his head.

"I'm not asking to disturb him. I was just wondering," Steve mentioned. JARVIS still did not answer. Rolling his eyes, Steve realized he couldn't argue with the AI. Sighing deeply, Steve headed over to the table and began to slowly clean up everything that the others had left in their mad dash out of the tower. He felt the need to remove the puree first in case Clint's allergy wasn't just based by eating it. By the time he was done cleaning and washing whatever may have touched the peach puree or even the peaches themselves, the elevator opened. Bruce, Pepper and Natasha slowly exited.

"I can't believe you noticed something was wrong. If you hadn't who knows what would have happened," Pepper proudly told Bruce as the group exited. She was holding a, yet again, sleeping Clint as Bruce and Natasha trailed along behind them. Steve moved to greet them as he dried his hands on a free towel.

"I'm glad it wasn't too bad. We caught it early enough," Bruce muttered. Natasha snorted. Though the reaction was 'too bad' it had still taken almost an hour for the hospital to release them. In fact, the doctors on staff wanted to keep Clint overnight but were forced to let them go as Bruce mentioned he could watch Clint with JARVIS's help and that Pepper had been rapidly trying to staff a medical area within Stark Towers. They stopped walking halfway down the hall.

"We should remove all peaches for now," Natasha stated, moving toward the fridge with a silent nod of greeting to Steve as she passed him. Steve frowned at the group at large. He had no idea what was going on. While he had assumed that the allergic reaction had been the peaches, Clint had shown none of these allergies before. Why suddenly now?

"All peaches?" the Captain greeted. Bruce turned to him as Pepper moved to the living room where a play yard was set up for whenever Clint drifted off when not in his room.

"Clint is allergic to peaches," Bruce replied. Steve grunted, having assumed as much but still didn't understand.

"That's not in his file," Steve mentioned, figuring that would be easier to talk about than how allergies have changed over the past 70 years. The super soldier knew he could look it up later. Bruce nodded.

"I know. But, he may not have known. I doubt his parents would have been keen on giving him peaches and the allergy may have disappeared when he got older. We don't know for certain but we do have to be highly alert. He could be allergic to anything now," Bruce informed the solider. Steve nodded as he looked back at Pepper. She was gently placing Clint down.

"I wonder what else we don't know about him," Steve whispered, hiding the fact that he was still confused. More things he would have to look up later. How could one suddenly lose an allergy? It didn't make sense. He thought all allergies were created at birth and stayed with a person their whole life. The Super Soldier serum cured him of all ailments but... That couldn't work now... Natasha was suddenly by their side, having finished dealing with everything else.

"Clint keeps to himself. Even I don't know much about him really. What I do know is learned from tricking him or guessing his past correctly," Natasha told them. "He's a pretty big enigma."

"Why doesn't S.H.I.E.L.D know anything? I thought they had resources for something like this," Steve wondered, glancing over at the spy. Natasha shook her head. There was a lot that Steve needed to learn about this world. Hell, S.H.I.E.L.D didn't even have a complete file on her. Course, she had a variation of the Super Solider serum so they wouldn't have to worry about something like allergies.

"When Clint lived with his parents, no one focused on their family. By the time he got to the orphanage, he was used to hiding from people. He and his older brother disappeared. Clint didn't reappear until the circus added a new member. 'The Amazing Hawkeye'. After there he disappeared again until an assassin by the same name got pretty big in the underground world. S.H.I.E.L.D began following him then. A lot of the simpler things like allergies and such were pretty much ignored," Natasha explained.

"So we may have to go through all this again?" Pepper asked, walking into the conversation just as Natasha talked about Clint's past. Bruce nodded.

"Who knows what could happen and what he may be allergic too. For now, all we can do is handle the issues as they come," Bruce answered.

* * *

Clint ended up sleeping through the rest of the day and most of the night (something the doctors at the hospital had warned may happen). But around 3 in the morning, he woke up crying for food. Natasha was the only one close enough to hear, as she had been having trouble sleeping. Slowly, she slunk toward his room, almost praying that the babe would fall back asleep. Sadly, it didn't work. With a deep sigh, Natasha entered his room.

"What's up?" she asked as she entered Clint's room. Clint was standing on his tippy toes trying to look over the edge of the crib's side. He signed 'food' to her. Rolling her eyes, Natasha reached down and picked him up. Maybe she could rock him to sleep. She was too distracted to realize that his outfit was wet. "It's too early."

Clint whined and signed 'food' more forcefully. Natasha shook her head. She would not give in. No matter how cute the little archer looked in her arms. Instead she began bouncing the boy in an effort to put him back down to sleep. Clint signed again in an effort to get her to give in.

"It's three in the morning, you have to sleep," Natasha tried to order. Clint rubbed his stomach before signing 'food'. The door creaking again made Natasha turn around to see a blearily looking Pepper entering the room. Apparently JARVIS could see that she was getting nowhere with Clint and had called on the CEO for help. Natasha briefly considered being angered at the AI but right now, she was rather glad to see the other woman. Pepper was great at this sort of thing.

"What does he want?" Pepper softly called. Natasha shook her head.

"He keeps saying food," Natasha replied.

"He might be really hungry. Let's get him to the kitchen," Pepper said before holding out her hands to take Clint. Natasha frowned but handed him over in such a way that Pepper's hands ran over his butt. Pepper now took her turn to frown. "Did you check his diaper?"

"Diaper? As in, did I change him? No," Natasha retorted. Pepper nodded before moving over toward a 'newly' set up changing table. Natasha rolled her eyes but moved over to watch. She had never seen someone do this. And judging on what was going on, she may need to learn. But once Pepper slipped the soaking wet onesie off, Natasha backed off. Did Clint really have to get fully naked before getting his diaper changed? "What are you doing?"

"Changing him. He can't stay in a dirty diaper," Pepper answered. Natasha grunted but didn't reply. She honestly wasn't sure what to say to that. Thankfully she didn't have too as Pepper handed her the sopping wet outfit. "Here, toss this in the laundry and bring me another outfit."

Grunting, Natasha took the outfit with two fingers. She wasn't lucky enough to avoid any wet spots as she carried it at arm's length away. A laundry bin had been set up by the closet but still near the changing table. Gently, Natasha dropped the outfit there. With a deep sigh, she headed the rest of the way to the closet and began digging through the clothes. By the time she returned with a new outfit, Pepper was already closing up the diaper. "That was quick."

"Usually is unless he's pooped," Pepper retorted. Clint chuckled at that. Pepper raised an eyebrow before sharing a look with Natasha in surprise. This was the first time they had really seen him laugh at anything since this happened.

"Pooped?" Natasha repeated and yet again, Clint chuckled. Natasha leveled a glare on the babe. Pepper smiled before picking Clint up and bouncing him on her hip. "Really? Pooped?"

Clint chuckled again and this time Pepper softly joined in. Natasha rolled her eyes.

"It's kind a cute," Pepper argued before quickly placing him back down and dressing Clint. "Course why that word is so funny, I don't know."

"At least it isn't anything else really stupid," Natasha groaned. Pepper nodded before sitting Clint up. He signed 'again'.

"Pooped," Pepper cooed. Clint laughed before doing the same sign again. Pepper complied and continued to do so all the way to the kitchen upstairs. As she began placing Clint in his high chair, Natasha headed to the fridge and grabbed an apple puree. When she turned around, Pepper noticed what she grabbed. "No. I think we should do a milk bottle for now."

"A milk bottle?" Natasha chorused. Pepper nodded before moving around the island to grab the ingredients she needed to create the formula. A bottle full of water was the first thing placed down on the island. Following that was the one tub of formula that Natasha and Steve had bought prior. After carefully reading the directions, Pepper scooped out the formula and dropped it in the bottle. Once done, she closed both before shaking the bottle vigorously. A minute later, she was ready and handed the bottle over. Clint greedily began sucking on it and faster than either woman had imagined, it was gone. Once done, Clint tossed the bottle roughly to the ground. "Hey! No!"

"Clint, that was very bad," Pepper agreed as she reached down and picked the bottle up. When she came up again, Clint was pouting before signing 'food' again. Pepper stared at him as Natasha looked to the CEO for help. "How can you want more?"

"Are we allowed to feed him this early?" Natasha muttered before turning to the fridge to grab something else. Apparently Clint wouldn't be sated until he was fed a puree. Pepper shrugged. She had never had a kid before and didn't know if there were any rules on what to do and not to do.

"I have researched such questions. Most answers I can find say that at Little Clint's age, he should be fed whenever he asks for it. As he gets older, we should limit the amount of times we feed him," JARVIS interrupted. Pepper nodded. In agreement, the women collected a puree and a spoon before settling down to feed the little archer.

* * *

Later that morning everyone had adjourned in the living room. Clint was happily playing with some wooden blocks with Bruce while Steve was in his chair drawing the two Avengers. Tony and Pepper were draped across the couch with the genius supporting his sleeping girlfriend. Natasha was lounging in the love seat near-by, drifting off to sleep herself. Both women had already explained that Clint had woken them at around 3 in the morning and then refused to fall back asleep.

"Come on, you know how to stack them," Bruce encouraged. Clint made a thoughtful face as he tried to gently lay the block in his hand down onto the small three block tower that Bruce and he was making. At the last second, his hand jerked and the tower collapsed. Clint huffed as Bruce chuckled and restacked the three blocks. "Try again."

"Why is he having such a hard time with that?" Tony asked. Bruce looked over at the genius, missing when Clint knocked over the blocks again. This time, Clint whined. "I mean, he can sign perfectly fine. What's so hard about stacking?"

"Well, at his age his hand eye coordination is not fully developed. Through time and encouragement, he may be able to control it better. But it could take months for that to happen. Though, considering his mind knows what to do and it's just his body not cooperating, he may get better faster," Bruce replied. Tony frowned but nodded. Bruce looked back to see Clint working hard on just stacking two blocks together. Once he had that down, Bruce smiled and watched as Clint grabbed a new block and got to work again.

"So... What are the rules with kids?" Natasha suddenly questioned. Bruce didn't look as he helped Clint restack his tower after it fell once more. Clint in anger and frustration began to push the blocks away.

"Rules? What do you mean?" Bruce wondered, trying to stop Clint from getting to deep into a temper tantrum.

"Rules like when to feed him, change him, bath him, crap like that," Natasha demanded. Bruce stopped to look at the spy.

"There isn't a rule book for babies. Every child is different. They develop at different rates, learn things in different ways, and do things differently than one may think. You can't just go up to a parent and say that their child will follow one type of strict routine. The child may eventually follow that routine but at first, you have to go with the flow," Bruce replied. Natasha snorted. "There is no right or wrong way to raise a kid."

"Well there is with him. We want him back to our archer again, don't we?" Natasha snapped, her tiredness easily getting a hold of her. Bruce frowned.

"That's true. But, if we followed what happened to him, we might actually make things worse," Bruce answered. Natasha growled. "Well think of it this way. As much as he remembers his life before, when he gets older, he may not remember this moment specifically like an adult. Children can ineptly tell who is evil and who is good. If he places us in the 'evil' category at this young age, it may show up again once he's returned to normal."

"Like, he wouldn't trust us anymore?" Steve questioned. Bruce nodded.

"Damn it. How will we know if that happens?" Natasha snarled. Bruce shrugged.

"Honestly we have no real way of stopping how his mind labels us. The best we can do is act nicely toward him, show him that he has nothing to fear and overall treat him right. Acting like his parents did when he was first this age is not the best solution for that," Bruce pointed out. Everyone (awake) nodded.

"Fine." With that, Bruce turned back to play some more with Clint. But when he turned back, Clint looked a little strange. He was making faces and seemed generally upset.

"Clint?" Bruce asked just before Clint expelled his bottle of formula all over the doctor and the floor and himself.

* * *

**4302 words here. Had to change around this chapter more than others. Hope I didn't make too many mistakes or rush it to a point that no one really understands what is happening.**

**Baby... Um... Toddler Clint (as my family keeps reminding me) is doing well. He talks more often and understands a bit more of what we are asking him to do. In two weeks he's moving rooms in his daycare and also becoming full time there. I think my father is more upset about this change then my husband or myself. But, Toddler Clint has become a real hassle at work lately and my husband and I feel we ignore him too much there and set him back. The daycare is better for him. Anywho, my husband still has no answers. We're waiting on results from his most latest test to find out what our next step will be. In the mean time, he still suffers.**

**But now... Review Responses!**

**Favorites: ** Demmerick

**Followers:** Demmerick

**Review Responses:**

_Niom Lamboise _\- Great points you make. Yup, Tony is doing his best to learn everything about the resident archer. I can't wait till you get further in!

_sammygirl1963 _ \- I loved the scene with Steve tossing Clint in the air as well. That came about when my husband tossed out son into the air and he had the same reaction. Course, I was acting a lot like Pepper and we didn't have a large space for high tosses but they still had fun. All I could image was being on one of the upper floors and suddenly seeing this baby flying through the air, wave at me, and then fall back down before repeating, lol.

_MO-5431 _\- While Clint does have all his memories, we also have to remember his body's limitation. He may not be able to do half the stuff we think he can. But there is still enough potential. Thanks for the well wishes.

_amy.d .fuller .9 _\- Mischief? Clint? Tee Hee. Yup. I'm having fun re-writing parts and looking over everything I've written so far. And I keep writing more. Not sure if the teasing will come sooner or not, lol.


	21. Chapter 21

Pepper woke to the smell of rotten milk. No, it was more pungent... It smelt like the formula mix that she had made earlier that morning but it was different from that too. Like the formula had somehow gone bad. Slowly, the CEO opened her eyes to see Bruce rushing from the room, looking a little ill. Tony had somehow slipped out from behind her and hadn't disturbed her. The genius was standing in the middle of the living room with Steve. Both men looked a little lost. Natasha was closer to the kitchen, holding Clint who also looked a little ill.

"What happened?" Pepper slurred out, still trying to wake from her little cat nap.

"Clint threw up again," Tony replied, turning to face her. Pepper slowly got to her feet to see the mess was rather large. Larger than even the mess that Clint had made upon Karen. She frowned at the sight.

"Is he sick?" Pepper asked, moving to the hall closet to get some items in an effort to clean up the mess.

"Bruce says he thinks that the serum might be upsetting his stomach. If it goes on for a few more days or he shows a temperature then we should check with his pediatrician," Steve explained. Pepper nodded before looking over to Natasha and Clint. It was here that she noticed Clint had been stripped of clothes and Natasha was rubbing something over his body.

"Is he alright?" Pepper wondered, grabbing the items she needed form the closet. Natasha glanced over.

"Some of it got on him and when I picked him up again, he threw up all over his outfit," Natasha mentioned. Pepper adjusted her walk from the mess in the living room to Natasha and Clint. In doing so, she left the cleaning items behind the couch. Tony and Steve traded looks as they wondered if that meant what they thought it meant.

"He's gonna need a bath," Pepper stated, smelling the scent must stronger as she got closer to the duo.

"Uh, what about this mess?" Tony called, pointing to the rapidly drying spew in front of him. Pepper shook her head.

"You guys clean it. I'm gonna go set up a bath. Natasha, I might need help," Pepper ordered before taking Clint from Natasha. Together the women began to walk off. Tony gapped at them as they left.

"But... But," the genius stammered. Steve placed a comforting hand on the man's shoulder. Tony looked to him with a still stunned expression.

"Come on," Steve said. Slowly the two moved off to clean up the mess that the women were leaving behind. Down the hall, Pepper had already brought Clint into the main floor bathroom. Natasha had left to get clothes, towels and bath stuff, tugging Bruce with her as the doctor had been using this bathroom to stop from being sick himself. The water was quick to fill up, which was good as Clint kept trying to crawl away as if the water would poison him.

"Clint, no. Come back here," Pepper demanded before grabbing the baby by the waist and sliding him across the tile. Clint squealed and for a moment, Pepper couldn't tell why. She almost let go of the boy in surprise but was glad that she did hang on. When she turned to look at him, Clint had a huge smile on his face. Pepper raised an eyebrow even as Natasha came rushing back in.

"What happened? Is Clint okay?" Natasha hurriedly asked. Pepper and Clint looked over at her.

"Nothing, he's fine," Pepper answered. To prove such a fact, she released Clint and once he had crawled far enough away she reached out and grabbed him. Yet again, he squealed but Natasha could clearly see that Clint was enjoying this. The spy shook her head before dropping off the towel and clothes as Pepper began to strip the diaper off. Natasha quickly backed away.

"He has to be naked?" she asked. Pepper glanced up at her while nodding.

"How do you think I can wash his privates with the diaper there?" Pepper wondered. Natasha blanched making Pepper laugh. "Guess I'll be the only one doing bath time?"

"I may have seen Clint naked a few times on missions, but even I ain't willing to get into that," Natasha claimed, pointing to the situation as a whole. Pepper laughed lightly as she stripped the diaper off and quickly placed Clint in the tub. He cried out in anger at the water before slamming his hands down. The explosive splash covered Clint's head, the walls and most of Pepper.

"CLINT NO!" Pepper shouted as Natasha chuckled.

"Good luck," the spy called before turning around and leaving. Pepper sighed even as Clint did it again, now getting her even wetter.

"Clint, no splashing!" Pepper demanded. Clint glanced at her before making an evil little smile and splashing her again. Pepper squealed in anger before grabbing a rinse cup, filling it with water, and then proceeding to dump it over the babe's head. Clint spluttered in surprise before taking his revenge and sending a huge splash at Pepper. She was drenched in seconds. "Clint Barton! You do not splash! I know you understand me!"

Clint laughed as he shook his head no and splashed the water again. Pepper screeched before rapidly grabbing the bath soap and squeezing a bit into her hand. Placing the soap down, Pepper then slathered the soap from her hand onto Clint's head and over most of his body. Of course, Clint whined and tried to be an overall nuisance but Pepper had watched over little kids before. This wouldn't stop her. She was going to be as fast and as efficient as possible.

"Clint, listen to me. If you stop fighting this, it will all go a lot faster," Pepper bargained. Clint slapped his hands on the water again, sending a spray into her face. For a moment Pepper said nothing before nodding and grabbing the rinse cup again. She dumped the water over his head three times to completely clear the soap from his hair and by the end of it, Clint looked stunned. "There, all done."

Clint laughed before splashing her again. Pepper frowned.

"If you do that one more time, I will take you out of this bath," Pepper warned. Apparently, that's what Clint wanted as he quickly splashed her again. Frustrated, Pepper yanked the baby out of the tub and placed him on the mat just beside the tub and her. Clint smiled all the way up until Pepper dropped a towel on his head and began to vigorously dry his hair. In the mists of his outraged cries at the treatment, Pepper just smiled. "Well, next time, if you don't splash me, I'll be more gentle."

Well, Clint either didn't believe her and wanted revenge or he just couldn't control himself for in that moment... He pissed on her. Pepper's outraged screams drew Natasha back to the bathroom.

"What happened?" the spy asked. Pepper quickly picked Clint up in a towel and thrust him into Natasha's chest.

"You take him. I have to go shower," Pepper snapped. Natasha froze. She had been praying that she could keep on using various excuses as to not having to change Clint or even doing much of anything with taking care of him. But now... Now Pepper was leaving her with him and Natasha had no idea what to do.

"Wait, seriously? But... I don't know how to put a diaper on," Natasha whined. Pepper angrily turned and looked at her. Natasha hugged Clint closer in surprise at the amount of anger in the woman's face. Even Clint looked shocked.

"If I see his face for one more second, I may just strangle him," Pepper sneered. Natasha raised an eyebrow.

"What did he do?" Natasha wondered. Pepper pointed to her soaking wet body.

"He pissed on me," Pepper snapped before storming off. Natasha paused before looking at Clint. He gave her a guilty smile. Natasha's eyes narrowed.

"Don't you dare do that to me," Natasha muttered. Clint nodded before signing 'sorry'. Natasha snorted. "Ain't me you need to say that too."

Clint nodded before looking down the hall after Pepper. With a deep resigned sigh, Natasha headed into the bathroom only to find when she brought things for Pepper earlier; she had mistakenly left the diaper out. Perturbed at the lack of diaper, Natasha gathered up the clothes before returning to Clint's room. Thankfully Clint didn't need to pee or poop on the entire journey, so by the time they got to the room, Natasha was still clear. She laid him down on the changing table and paused.

"Uh," she whispered, glancing over at the diaper holder which was a good four feet away from the changing table. A mistake in design which would be later rectified. Clint laughed at her predicament. Sighing, she looked down at Clint. As much as everyone told her to treat Clint like a baby, she just couldn't. She trusted him. "Stay."

Clint nodded and watched as Natasha walked off. Well, he didn't stay that way for long. In order to watch her progression across the room, Clint had to shift his position in order to see her. His shifting put him on the dresser top and slid the changing table over. The sudden change made Clint flail his arms and legs making him fully tip over the side and drop heavily to the floor. Natasha heard the thud and spun around in time to see Clint look up at her before starting a pitiful cry.

"Jesus, Barton," Natasha cursed, rushing to the boy's side. She snatched him up off the ground and began rocking him, concerned about what could have happened to him. Clint continued to cry and just held tightly onto Natasha's shirt. "I told you not to move. Why did you move?"

"What happened?" called a new voice. Natasha looked up to see Steve slowly coming into the room. The spy paled. She had partly hoped that no one had heard what happened.

"He fell off the changing table," Natasha replied, embarrassed for allowing this to happen. Steve nodded before coming over to check on Clint. Slowly, he began running his hand over each of Clint's limbs. The sudden touches calmed Clint down enough to turn and watch what the soldier was doing. Steve smiled at him and continued the motions for an extra few minutes.

"Well, nothing seems broken. And he seems fine now," Steve pointed out. Natasha smiled back at Steve before gently laying Clint back down on the table. Steve moved to grab the abandoned diaper on the floor. He came back to the table, nudging Natasha up towards Clint's head before slowly beginning to dress him in the diaper. "Can you get some clothes?"

"Uh... Sure..." Natasha muttered, turning to the clothes she had dropped upon entering the room. When she returned, like Pepper that morning, Steve was already done. "How do you know how to change a diaper?"

"Well... During my mom's final days, she was really sick and weak. Too weak to even get up and go to the bathroom. So, I had to buy extra cloths to wrap around her body. Now-a-days you have the adult diapers and these nifty disposable diapers but they run on the same kind of design. Easy use and all," Steve babbled. Natasha nodded. He looked over at her even as he dressed Clint tried his best to help but really only got in the way. "Do you... Uh... Not know how to do a diaper?"

"No... I don't. Red Room sterilized their women. We were used for sexual conquest a lot and a pregnant woman was down and out for nine months. They couldn't risk us forgetting meds or anything," Natasha mumbled before lifting Clint off the table. Clint clung to her shirt once again. She said nothing about it. Steve frowned before placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry," he said. Natasha shrugged.

"Doesn't matter. This whole thing proves that I'm not fit to be a mother," she muttered. Steve shook his head.

"I don't believe that. All women should be a mother at least once," Steve argued. Natasha shrugged.

"I'd probably kill it," she grumbled before walking away. Steve almost laughed for as she walked away, Clint looked over her shoulder and gave the Captain a horrified look.

* * *

The rest of the day was pretty much uneventful. Clint mostly ate purees and didn't seem to have any issues with anything. It wasn't until night time came that he got another bottled formula. Yet again, he chugged it down like a champ and half an hour later, threw it all up again. Bruce still didn't seem concerned but Pepper and Natasha both knew something was wrong. They didn't really know what about the whole issue was wrong, they just knew something was wrong. Somehow, Clint was sick and they needed to convince Bruce of this fact.

"He has no fever, the serum reaction didn't last this long last time and he was fine all day until now," Pepper argued over giving the baby another bath. Clint was less active this time as it was getting close to bed time and Pepper had absently switch from normal soap to bedtime soap. Something that Natasha had evenly absently bought when she first went out shopping with Steve. Bruce shook his head. He was certain that his answer was right.

"His body did more changes this time. It may take longer to adjust. For all we know, it still might be aftereffects of his allergic reaction from the other day," Bruce mentioned. Pepper shook her head, knowing that wasn't true. Allergies wasn't necessarily something that one had a reaction from for an entire day.

"I have allergies to strawberries and my reaction time is over once I get my medicine. This is not his allergies. And I highly doubt it's the serum. I think it has to do with his formula," Pepper tried. Bruce shook his head again.

"Clint needs that formula right now. It could be that since he isn't used to it, his body it trying to expel it. Give it another day or two before we do anything," Bruce suggested. Pepper shook her head, not sure she wanted to agree with this or not. Natasha stepped up, having disappeared during the argument to make a quick call.

"I called his pediatrician. He agrees with Bruce. Give it another day and have us stick with one flavored puree. It might be the constant mixes that are throwing him off. If we stick with one then we'll lower the risk of the other purees giving him some type of problem," Natasha explained. Pepper frowned but nodded.

"Okay. Apples. He had those first and was perfectly fine," Pepper suggested. Bruce shook his head.

"That's what I first gave him before he threw up on Karen. I've seen adult Clint eat bananas. Let's stick with that. We know his older self isn't bothered with them so there should be a less likely chance of that causing an issue," Bruce ordered. Natasha and Pepper agreed. "I'll go make some more."

Slowly, Bruce tottered off toward the kitchen, leaving the two women and a cleaner and sleepy Clint behind. Pepper smiled gently when Clint let out a huge yawn as she finished dumping a cup of water over his head. Natasha snorted.

"Someone's getting tired," the spy laughed. Clint nodded before holding his arms up toward Pepper. The CEO chuckled before lifting Clint out of the bath and plopping him on his butt. As she promised earlier that day, she was much more gentle with the towel. Once he was dry, she laid him on the damp towel so she could put his diaper on. Natasha stopped her, realizing now that she'd never be able to fully escape changing Clint. "Can... Can I try?"

"Sure," Pepper said, moving aside so that Natasha could take her place. Smiling, Natasha moved over. Then she froze. Pepper laid a hand on her shoulder. Even though Clint had been changed perfectly while she was in the shower, Pepper assumed that someone had taken care of it. Apparently it hadn't been Natasha. Slowly, the CEO gave the spy directions. "Open the diaper." Natasha nodded and grabbed the clean diaper and worked on peeling it apart until it sat wide on the floor. "Grab his legs and pick up his butt. Once his butt is in the air, place the diaper below it." Natasha did such but then paused. Pepper chuckled. "You can put him down on top of it." Natasha blushed before gently placing Clint's butt back down. Clint dropped his legs down but left them open so that Natasha had room for the next step.

"You better not piss," Natasha warned. Pepper laughed as Clint smiled. As much as the little babe was tempted to, he had nothing in him currently.

"Grab the front of the diaper and lift it to spread over his stomach," Pepper continued. Natasha nodded and did such. "Now, grab the first yellow flap. Either one, doesn't matter. Unstrap it from its place and lay it on the yellow strip." Natasha followed the direction like a champ and before Pepper could say repeat, Natasha did the same with the other side. Both women looked at the work after wards. It was a little askew but not that bad. Pepper smiled. "Good job."

"Thanks," Natasha muttered. Pepper nodded before spinning Clint around and quickly dressing him. "Now we just need Bruce and Tony to do it."

"Steve changed him?" Pepper asked. Natasha nodded.

"After he pee-ed on you. Steve helped me then," Natasha admitted. Pepper blushed.

"Oh. I thought that was you," the CEO said, having only just realized recently that she was incorrect. Natasha snorted and shook her head.

"No. Steve came after... Well. After Clint fell off the changing table," Natasha mumbled. Pepper frowned. "We didn't tell you cause he was fine. He cried for a minute but nothing was broken and JARVIS even scanned him. Nothing happened!"

"Okay. Okay. But please... Next time, let me know," Pepper suggested. Natasha frowned.

"There won't be a next time," she half growled out. Pepper snorted.

"This is Clint we're talking about. There will be a next time."

* * *

That night, no one really paid attention to the time on the clock. Much like how they normally spent the days. Minutes ticked away as they all joined for dinner. A dinner that was an interesting event as Clint pretty much demanded everyone's attention in eating his banana puree. Everyone else enjoyed pizza (an easy enough meal to make). After eating, they convened into the living room. As they sat there watching a movie (_Due Date_), Clint began to drift off. Pepper was holding him safely in her arms and her body warmth was making him fall asleep faster. Part way through the movie, Pepper glanced down and noticed that Clint was almost out.

"Jeez, what time is it?" Pepper softly called out to everyone else. Bruce and Steve glanced over and also noted Clint was mostly asleep. The duo smiled lightly at it. Natasha looked down at her watch as Tony shifted to get a look at the sleeping baby, almost disturbing Clint as he moved Pepper a little as well.

"So the little punk fell asleep?" Tony asked. "And during such a funny movie!"

"It's almost eight," Natasha answered. She looked over at Pepper, Tony and Clint. "A little early, don't you think?"

"Well, I gave him that bath at 6:30," Pepper said. "Then we had dinner. He was also awake a lot of today."

"It just seems weird," Natasha mumbled. Pepper nodded and slowly got to her feet. Clint woke within an instant and began to cry. There was no way in hell he was going to go to bed right now. He wanted to finish watching the movie. Didn't matter to him that he had just fallen asleep moments prior. Pepper grimaced as she started to try and put the babe back out. Natasha smiled, wondering if Pepper would give up. Tony snorted, relaxing back into his seat. Steve shifted to watch them all while Bruce cleared his throat, praying that Hulk didn't try and escape in an attempt to help Clint get his point across.

"Shhh," Pepper cooed, rocking Clint in an effort to get him back asleep. But Clint was having none of it. He just kept crying.

"Pep, sit down. He's awake now," Tony demanded, pulling on Pepper's shirt. The CEO frowned but slowly sat back down. Once she had relaxed again, Clint stopped crying. Tony looked down at him. "Seriously? Crying about her standing up."

Clint responded by sticking out his tongue and relaxing back into Pepper's arms. Bruce shook his head. Natasha snorted and turned to watch the movie again. Pepper sighed and shifted slightly to get more comfortable. Tony rolled his eyes and also resumed watching the movie. Steve focused on Clint.

"Actually, I think we still need to put him to bed," Steve told the others. Pepper glanced over at him, slightly surprised. Natasha frowned and focused a glare on the soldier. Bruce paused to think about it and nodded in agreement but didn't speak up. Tony snorted.

"Why? He seems fine with us now," the genius stated. Steve nodded.

"I know. But babies need sleep and a set regimen to follow. If we give him baths every night at around 6:30 and then do an hour whine-down, by eight o'clock, he would be ready for bed. In fact, he would do what he's doing now, falling asleep on his own. By not setting a strike bed time, he will fight us each night," Steve pointed out. Everyone focused on him. Laughing lightly, Steve shrugged. "I did a bit of reading."

"Okay... Well, let's get Clint in bed then," Pepper agreed, once again standing. And once again, Clint began crying. Pepper looked to Steve for help. The soldier stood as well.

"The books said he'll try and fight it but we have to be forceful on the situation. We can't give in or he'll control us," Steve mentioned. Pepper nodded and together they began to walk off. Clint continued crying the entire time. Tony, Natasha and Bruce all looked at each other, wondering if they should go as well. In the end, they didn't move. About five minutes later, Pepper and Steve returned. Pepper was holding a small monitor. Through it, everyone could hear Clint screaming, desperately.

"Uh... That doesn't sound good," Tony mumbled, pointing to the monitor. Pepper shrugged and sat down, shifting the little item down onto the table before them. Tony struggled to get a good look at. Groaning, he called out. "J, put that on the big screen."

"With pleasure," JARVIS replied before the monitor went blank. A second later the movie shut off and was replaced with an image of Clint sitting in his crib, holding onto the bars and screaming like mad.

"He doesn't look pleased," Natasha pointed out.

"No, he doesn't," Pepper concurred. "Should we be worried?"

"Maybe... Clint is notorious for pulling pranks on people who upset him," Natasha answered.

"As much as he protests, he needs this. We can't do what we used to do before and stay up all hours of the night," Steve stated. Natasha nodded.

"Not arguing that. Just... Warning, really. Clint is never one to follow authority figures. Coulson was about the only one he did. And now..." Natasha trailed off. For a moment everyone was silent. Speaking Coulson's name was something that everyone silently agreed upon not doing. Why, no one really knew. It just bothered them too much to even hear his name. So, no one spoke it.

"It will be fine. We may have to suffer a few days or maybe week's worth of him fighting us, but his body will get used to it all eventually," Steve declared. Natasha nodded as the group continued watching Clint try and fight sleep. Suddenly, he produced a huge yawn. Steve smiled. "I think he's getting ready."

"We're asking for it come tomorrow," Natasha yet again warned as Clint restarted screaming as loud as he could. It was getting more desperate now, as if he was trying to claim he was in trouble. Bruce gripped his seat tightly, fighting to hold Hulk back. "We should just go get him now."

"He's fine, Natasha. Besides, I doubt he can be much trouble," Bruce countered. He would later come to curse those words.

* * *

**4119 words. Whoot! I am now three chapters ahead in my editing! Makes me so happy. Not that I can slack off or anything cause that just means that I still have to edit the rest, finish this, and get to work on my next story. Ugh. lol.**

**Toddler Clint is doing well. Just had his first day in a new room at daycare and is going to be spending his first full week at daycare next week. Big changes for him. Sadly, no news on my husband. They still have no idea why he's sick and so he's getting no treatment and is officially now getting worse.**

**Anywho, review responses!**

**Favorites: ** *no one*

**Followers:** *no one*

**Review Responses:**

_Niom Lamboise _\- I love that I have Clint allergic to peaches. Really I wanted him allergic to something generic and peaches was the first thing that came to mind outside of strawberries but I was like Pepper's allergic to strawberries, they wouldn't have those cause of her. I'm trying to fit in as many Baby!Clint and everyone moments as possible and still flow with the characters themselves. As for Thor, I can't write him to save my life... I have him show up in later chapters but I feel like he just falls flat and I don't like it really. Usually I tend to forget about him. Sorry. Thor tends to never feature in any of my stories...

_sammygirl1963 _ \- I based that on my own son laughing at that. Why he finds it funny I have no clue, but he does. You say it to him and he just chuckles at you. As for the allergic reaction, I wanted Clint allergic to something and peaches just worked. And Bruce being a medical person who did practice a bit with actually healing the sick would notice an allergic reaction.

_MO-5431 _\- Thanks so much. Sadly, as mentioned it didn't pan out but thankfully the doctor we have isn't giving up.

_amy. d .fuller .9 _\- Clint has all his adult memories but sometimes his baby... I guess, normal reactions one might say, just come out instead. He just gets those moments when the baby mind is stronger than his 30 year old mind.

_Baby Hedgehog-Cute but Deadly -_ Well that's how some mothers tend to act as well. In fact, that's a little how my mother acted when I was young. Clint may brand her as evil, but his 30 year old mind my realize she is doing it cause she cares. We will see how things turn out once he becomes an adult again. lol.

_Wholockian99 (Guest) -_ Thank you for reviewing twice this week. I'm glad you've been reading multiple times and have enjoyed it so immensely. I update every Friday unless otherwise mentioned. I do so, so that there is a consistent schedule kept for each update and everyone knows that they won't have to wait long periods of time between each update. Especially seeing as I am fighting to write between working, helping a ill husband and a now two year old son. As such, this story is almost completely finished being written, but I edit it before I post it each week and I'm working on two new stories as well. So my work load is pretty much jam packed. But, that just means more for all your enjoyment. lol.


	22. Chapter 22

That night Clint woke up just about every half hour. It was almost as if he had some sort of internal clock telling him to do it or something. JARVIS was at least smart enough to keep calling a different person each time to come deal with the babe. Every time someone came into the room though, Clint was perfectly fine. He never really needed a diaper change, he didn't take food or a bottle, and usually once the person entered the room, Clint stopped screaming and started chuckling. By five in the morning, everyone had given up on sleeping themselves but were determined to leave Clint in his bed. Apparently another book that Steve had read said that if they catered to Clint by getting him, then he would likely do this every night. For some reason, they all naturally agreed that Clint shouldn't get up till after seven in the morning. Two more hours to go and they were all exhausted.

"Who knew babies were such hard work?" Tony complained, trying to relax across the couch while leaving room for the drifting off Pepper. He had been stating as much for the past hour or so. Most of the group had been ignoring him. But right now, Bruce's sleep deprived mind was a little too slow on the uptake.

"Mostly everyone who ever had one," Bruce snorted. He was laying flat out on the floor as if it was more comfortable than trying to lay back in the love seat with Natasha. Steve was resting in the chair that Thor usually sat in. It was large enough for him to stretch back a bit but not large enough for him to curl up and sleep. Not that he was currently asleep yet. In fact, the only one of who was, was Pepper.

"Ugh. Is every night gonna be like this?" Tony moaned. Natasha's eyes snapped open in horror. Bruce groaned, praying to whoever was listening that it wouldn't. Steve sat up a little.

"Hopefully not. He should get used to it," Steve replied, his voice soft and slightly slurred with sleep. Tony glanced over at the solider.

"And if he doesn't?" Tony groaned.

"Then we better hope he gets older sooner rather than later," Natasha added. Everyone hummed in agreement even though they knew it was just a pipe dream. The serum was too unstable to know what would happen next. For all they knew, the whole event was over and Clint would be stuck re-ageing at a normal rate now. The silence was sudden split with an ear piercing scream. Everyone jumped to sitting positions to see that once again, Clint was awake and staring at the camera while screaming for someone to come get him.

"God damn it, sleep for longer than like five minutes!" Tony cursed. The others nodded in agreement.

"Actually Sir, Little Clint has slept for nearly forty minutes," JARVIS smartly retorted. Tony waved it off before looking over the others.

"Who's turn is it now?" the genius wondered.

"Mine," Steve moaned. "Should we really do this though? We can see that he's fine and JARVIS can let us know if he needs a diaper change. Do we need to check on him every time?"

"I thought so," Pepper said. Steve shook his head.

"No... You know what. I'm not gonna fall for it this time. JARVIS, is he okay?" Steve demanded.

"Little Clint has a slightly wet diaper but my research shows that many children go entire nights without being changed once and are fine in the morning. He may be slightly hungry but not enough to cause any more sleep disruptions," JARVIS intoned.

"Good. Tell us if anything changes," Steve told the AI. JARVIS said nothing back but focused all his might onto watching Clint. The other systems in the tower was sophisticated enough to cover for his lack of attention.

"Turn off the sound," Tony ordered after a minute of Clint still screaming. JARVIS hesitated a second before doing such. As soon as the living room was bathed in silence, one by one the Avengers drifted off to sleep.

* * *

"Damn it Clint, come out right now!" Natasha growled, leaning over the cabinet door to stare down at the two glowing eyes. Clint had found the only cabinet section in the entire tower that was so deep that the others would have to crawl in after him. For the past few days, he had continuously been rushing into them and hiding inside them. Why no one had thought until today to go buy more Child Locks, Natasha wouldn't know. But this morning when Steve was watching over Clint and the babe had crawled inside here, he decided to go shopping for some to stop him from ever doing it again. Natasha was then elected to get Clint out of the cabinets after that. The worse part about these cabinets was that they had no walls on either side and so if someone crawled in after Clint, he'd move to another cabinet area and they couldn't fit after. By the time they would back up and go after him again, he would have shifted to another cabinet section.

Clint chuckled and signed 'no' to her before slipping around an item that had been left in the cabinet. Natasha snarled and kneeled down on the ground. This was the third time he had gone into this one cabinet since waking up after the third 'night from hell' as Tony loves to call it. Pepper was currently taking her time to nap. Bruce had gone back to the lab to check on the suggestions he had made to JARVIS and try one or two other things his sleep deprived mind had thought of. Tony was in the lab trying to devise a way that JARVIS would control the opening and closing of every things.

"Clint, I swear to god, if I have to call someone for help," Natasha threatened. Clint just laughed at her as he disappeared into another cabinet. Natasha hissed in anger before moving to open that cabinet only to find that Clint had moved on again. She slammed the door closed in her anger. The resounding noise covered up the sounds of the elevator ding. "Damn it! GET BACK HERE!"

"Lose him in there again?" Tony called, entering the room. Natasha spun around to see the genius. She pressed a finger to her lips before pointing to a cabinet two away from her. Tony smirked before nodding and heading over to it. Knowing that Clint was somewhere in between where Natasha was and Tony was, Natasha hoped to trap the babe. But who knows, Clint was too smart for his own good. For all Natasha knew, there was a vent covering somewhere and then Clint could be lost in the vents once again. It had happened a few times already. As much as one would think he wouldn't go hide in the vents again, that was always Clint's first choice. And now as a baby, he couldn't easily move around in them.

"Clint, get out here," Natasha ordered again, ignoring the fact that Tony was laughing lightly at her. He was at least trying to keep quite in case Clint was at his cabinet. Natasha moved over one and snapped open the cabinet door. Still no Clint. That left one more before either Avenger found the babe. She sighed, gripping the handle. In a random calming moment, Natasha decided on a different method. "If you come out willingly, I'll give you a treat."

"Seriously? Resorting to bargaining?" Tony chuckled. Natasha glared at him even as she opened the last cabinet. Since she wasn't paying attention at first, Clint used that to move back through the cabinets she had already opened. By the time the spy looked into the cabinet she had opened, Clint was already three away from her. He knew when she looked when the curse echoed down the narrow space.

"That's it! Stay in there for all I fucking care," Natasha snapped, getting to her feet. Tony raised an eyebrow at her. He didn't understand that she had been trying to get Clint out of these cabinets for almost a half hour at this point.

"You're giving up?" the genius wondered. Natasha snorted and shook her head before walking away. Confused, Tony stood and followed after her. Both of them left the doors open as they went. Natasha walked out of the kitchen and slipped around the corner to hide in the hallway. Tony was slower to follow but once he was close, Natasha grabbed him and forced him to move faster. Once around the corner, she pressed a finger to her lips. Tony frowned. "What are we doing?"

"Tricking him. If he really thinks we left then he should come out on his own," Natasha whispered. Tony nodded, understanding it now. The duo waited in the hall for a few minutes before Natasha glanced back. Clint still wasn't out of the cabinets. Natasha growled low. Again, Tony chuckled but sobered up when Natasha glared at him.

"What if it doesn't work?" Tony muttered. Natasha shrugged. She was just guessing on everything here. To be honest, she was just about ready to go wake Pepper and ask her to get Clint. So far, Pepper was the only one to get Clint to come out willingly.

"Guess we leave him there," she replied. Tony chuckled before realizing that Natasha was serious. He frowned at that.

"I doubt that's a good idea."

"I know, but what else can we do?" Tony shrugged at that. So, they continued waiting... And waiting... And waiting... After nearly twenty minutes of waiting for Clint to come out of the cabinets, Natasha got frustrated all over again. She stomped over to the cabinets and began ripping the doors open. Tony stood off to the side watching. He knew that if he got involved it would be a really bad decision, so he just watched and waited. Two doors down from where she first started and Natasha found the prey she was hunting for. What she hadn't expected was that Clint had laid down on a couple of bags of flour and had fallen asleep. "Damn it."

"Now that's funny," Tony said, laughing loudly. Clint didn't even stir. He was too tired to even care. Natasha glared at the genius.

"Fine, you deal with it," she demanded before walking off. Tony stared after her before getting angry himself. He hadn't wanted this. In fact, since Clint got turned into a baby, he had gotten rather effective at avoiding being alone with the babe.

"Fine! I will!" he called after her. He nodded in emphasis to his statement before turning to look at Clint. As he wondered how to get him without waking him, JARVIS made the matter worse.

"Sir, I do believe Little Clint is in need of a diaper change," the AI informed. Tony sighed before tossing his arms into the air as if the AI would help him.

"I don't know how to change a baby!"

* * *

Tony was extremely lucky that Clint's diaper was only full of pee and not a mix or just a diaper full of poop. What the genius didn't understand about that luck was that Clint would need to go poop soon otherwise he could get seriously sick. But that was a matter for another point. Right now, Tony was focused on the fact that he had no idea what to do. Clint and he had gone into the babe's room and Tony had laid Clint down before basically freezing, unsure what to do. Well, there was the obvious of taking off Clint's clothes but Tony was spooked. If he took off the clothes, that meant this was serious and he'd actually have to change Clint's diaper. An action he hadn't done as of yet and hadn't seen.

"Okay... Change the brat... Change him... I can do this..." Tony encouraged himself. Clint giggled at the genius, tossing his legs into the air as if telling Tony what to do. Tony gulped as it suddenly hit him that he was about to see his friend's private area. He shuddered. "Okay... Let's do this."

Slowly, he reached forward and grabbed a hold of one of the pant legs of the shorts that Clint was currently wearing. Clint continued kicking his legs in glee, making it hard for Tony to remove the shorts and keep Clint on the table. Tony grunted, laying a hand over Clint's stomach to stop him from falling off the table but continued to tug on the shorts.

"Clint, stay STILL!" Tony demanded, fighting to keep Clint still while also taking the shorts off. A perfectly time kick from Clint and tug from Tony had the short flying off and tossed across the room. Tony fell back a few steps while Clint's rear slammed harshly down onto the changing table. Both guys stared at each other in surprise. Tony was the first to get over it. He sneered at Clint before the babe could start crying. "Serves you right."

Clint responded by blowing a raspberry at the genius. It made Tony snort at him before returning to the changing table and pausing once again. The odd design of the diaper had Tony unsure what step was next. He had never actually seen what a diaper looked like and he was certain that this was not what a diaper was supposed to look like. Clint giggled at the genius before reached down and tugging on one of the yellow tabs that held the diaper down. He had seen enough people change his diaper now to know that that's what needed to happen first. Tony cleared his throat, stopping Clint from actually removing it.

"I knew that," the genius commented. Clint chuckled and made a rapid sign with his free hand that Tony couldn't catch. Tony must had made a confused face cause Clint repeated it much slower for him. The first sign was his hand forming an 'O' shape and the next was three fingers forming a lower case 'K' shape. Tony's eyes narrowed, knowing that Clint was being sarcastic. "I did too!"

Clint just chuckled again. Figuring Clint wasn't going to believe him, Tony removed the straps and opened the diaper. Thankfully, he knew the next step involved a wipe. A quick glance around the table and Tony saw a small container. Opening it, he found some wet wipes. Yanking one out, Tony quickly wiped Clint down without really looking at what he was wiping. Once done, he removed the soiled diaper and paused once again.

"Sir, I would suggest placing the new diaper on before Little Clint needs to go again," JARVIS suggested. Tony nodded, thankful he had grabbed a fresh diaper before and had prepared it earlier. Yanking on one of Clint's legs, Tony lifted the babe's butt high enough to get the diaper underneath. He then placed Clint back down and moved the top between Clint's legs and over his stomach and privates just in time. The yellow line on the diaper began to slowly turn blue before Tony could even strap the tabs down. Tony's eyes narrowed as he looked at Clint.

"Really?" Tony asked. Clint laughed at the genius even as he continued going. Tony growled before suddenly smiling. He grabbed the first yellow tab and started closing up the diaper even as he called out to JARVIS. "Bruce's turn."

* * *

Bruce meet up with Tony in Clint's room only a few minutes later, having received JARVIS's message from Tony about 'his' turn. At first he had been confused but when he arrived and saw Clint was still laying on the changing table and Tony was keeping him entertained there, Bruce understood. He just stopped at the doorway and started laughing. Tony spun around and faced the doctor in surprise as he hadn't heard Bruce come in.

"Don't know how to change him?" Bruce figured. Tony frowned.

"No. I did... Just, the damn kid took a piss right after I finished changing him," Tony cussed. Bruce cracked a smile before shoving his way into Tony's spot. Everyone had learned from Natasha's mistake. No one left Clint alone on the table. In less than a minute, Bruce had Clint cleaned, changed and almost fully dressed all over again.

"Wha? How? I don't get it!" Tony snapped. Bruce laughed even as he picked Clint up off the changing table to pull the shorts up over the bagging diaper. Even Clint was a little stunned.

"While working on the gamma radiation project, I dabbled a bit in genetics. A lot of times, I worked with monkeys. Often times, I didn't have help and so I would need to change them. Needless to say, Clint was much easier than a monkey," Bruce pointed out. Tony opened his mouth to state something but before he could, his AI interrupted.

"Sir, Captain Rogers has returned from shopping and is in the kitchen calling for help," JARVIS relayed before Tony could go deeper into the subject. Bruce glanced at Tony.

"Shopping?"

"Clint has been getting into the kitchen cabinets and no one bought child locks," Tony explained. Bruce nodded. He had been surprised that no one had bought any in the amount of times that they had all been shopping. Then again, he had never offered to go but he was pretty sure that if he did, he would have forgotten as well. As a group, the three headed up to the common floor to meet with Steve. Once there, they found Steve opening a package of Child Safety Locks and staring oddly at the directions.

"Hey," Bruce greeted. Steve looked up at them.

"Hello. I swear, these things are written in a foreign language," Steve replied, waving the directions at Tony. The genius laughed lightly before taking them from the soldier. Having been separated from Clint all day, Steve quickly moved around the island and took the babe from Bruce. Laughing, Clint began to sign 'toss', one of the few signs that Steve had begun to easily recognize on his own. Smiling, Steve obliged.

"One day, that's going to really bother him," Bruce commented. Tony chuckled as he rapidly applied the child locks. He had so much black mail on Clint that he had to buy another drive for it all. Actually, he even had a lot on the others. It was amazing how often someone turned into a different person when around a kid or a baby.

"Yeah, but for now he likes it," Tony said. Bruce hummed. For a moment he noticed something and suddenly he became very worried.

"Have you noticed that sometimes he acts like an actual baby and then other times he acts like his 30 year old self?" Bruce mentioned. Tony shrugged. "It's been concerning me for a while now."

"I just figured it was something like bodily reactions. Something he couldn't really control," Tony suggested. Bruce pondered it for a moment before agreeing. It made sense. Something like the fight or flight programming taking over Clint's more rational thoughts. That wasn't too bad then. Not like what Bruce originally thought. He had assumed it was something like the serum was erasing his 30 year old memories.

"I guess. I wish there was something I could do to help," Bruce muttered. Tony sighed, finishing up on the last of the child locks. He backed away from the cabinets and turned to look at the doctor.

"The only thing would be to fix this and as you've said before. You've done everything possible," Tony pointed out. Bruce nodded. It was true. Tony came over and patted him on the back. "Hey, don't worry about it. We've all done what we can. Let's just live day by day."

* * *

Clint continued getting sick from the formula that Natasha and Steve had bought that first day. It was finally decided to switch him over to a new formula. That wasn't to say he was lactose intolerant (something his adult form definitely wasn't). It was just that some babies could not handle regular formula and needed to switch to soy formulas. The first day on this new formula worked out well. Clint didn't get sick once. Everyone was pleased with the outcome. Two days later... They weren't as pleased.

"WHY IS HE SCREAMING?" Tony shouted over Clint's echoing cries. Pepper was desperately rocking him, praying that it would stop him. Clint had been going at it for over an hour. Bruce had already escaped to his Hulk out room and JARVIS had reported that Hulk was released and was trying to get free from the room itself. Steve was down there now, watching over the big guy, making sure nothing too bad happened and ready to warn the others if Hulk did escape. Natasha was in the kitchen, making a puree, even though Clint has had no interest in eating most of the day so far.

"I DON'T KNOW!" Pepper called back. They had tried everything to get him to stop. Clint had thrown his full bottle onto the ground. His diaper was fresh. JARVIS sensed no fever. There seemed to be no reason for the cries. But still, Clint kept screaming. "Clint, calm down!"

"SOME ONE DO SOMETHING!" Tony demanded of Pepper and Natasha. Natasha glared at the genius as she came into the room with a fresh puree. She handed the spoon over to Pepper. As the CEO brought it close to Clint, he whacked it away, sending the mix all over the floor.

"Clint," Pepper whined. Clint didn't seem to care as he continued screaming. Pepper looked to Natasha. "Call the doctor! Please."

"You think he's sick?" Natasha questioned.

"JARVIS says he's fine," Tony snapped. "I think he's doing this to take revenge."

"No, something is really wrong. I know it. Natasha, please," Pepper said. Natasha nodded before rushing away to go make the call in private. Five minutes later, she returned.

"He'll take us as soon as we get there," Natasha informed. Pepper nodded and the females rushed off. Tony watched them.

"I'll let the others know!" he called after them. If they heard, they didn't reply.

* * *

"When was the last time he had a bowel movement?" Dr. Jazuat asked as he calmly pressed on Clint's stomach. Clint screeched in agony. Pepper was in near tears at the sound. Natasha shifted to Black Widow mode in an effort to answer the pediatrician.

"A few days ago," Natasha answered, having been kept up to date with all the goings on thanks to JARVIS. Clint was her partner, she would never be left in the dark again. Jazuat frowned at the information. That was not good to hear.

"Babies are supposed to have one at least once a day. He must be very constipated. Has anything changed in the past few days?" he wondered. Now it was Natasha's turn to frown. It was Dr. Jazuat's idea to change Clint's formula over to the soy type. Was this guy an idiot or something? Natasha had done a background check on him personally. She had even checked on how many patients he had. Currently Jazuat only had three patients. Clint was one of them. As such, he shouldn't get confused with all of them.

"We changed his formula," Natasha mentioned. Jazuat nodded as he checked something else on Clint who was still screaming.

"And why?" Jazuat distantly muttered. Natasha snarled.

"The regular formula was making him throw up. So you suggested the soy." Jazuat nodded again before walking away from Clint, leaving him alone on the table. Pepper rushed over as Clint rolled to his stomach in an effort to relieve some of the pain he was feeling. In doing so he fell into her waiting arms. If she hadn't rushed over, he would have fallen to the hard cement below. Both women turned to glare at Jazuat. He didn't notice.

"I'm thinking we should switch him again to a new formula and I'll also suggest a suppository until he can poop freely on his own," Jazuat called. Both women nodded at the information, mentally recording it in their minds.

"Do you think that will work?" Pepper questioned, concerned for Clint more than anything else. Jazuat nodded before turning around and handing her a slip of paper. She quickly read it over. It thankfully was everything that he had mentioned before.

"Give it a few days and then call me if it doesn't help."

* * *

Needless to say... It didn't help. Well, the suppository worked fine. Cleared up Clint's pooping and everything but... The new formula didn't. It was just like before. Clint kept throwing up all over again. Jazuat was no help. He wanted to keep Clint on it as he was sure that the constant switching of formulas was more than likely what was bothering Clint. Unsure what to do, they were forced to listen. For almost four days they stayed on this new formula, watching as Clint got sick over and over again. And they could do nothing about it. Clint would cry nearly all day and most of the night as well. His stomach was constantly upset and he would sign as much. At the end of the four days and a verbal threat from Natasha, Jazuat gave in and once again changed Clint's formula.

* * *

**4249 words this chapter. Everything is going well. I am now 4 chapters ahead in editing and (not sure if I mentioned this before) but completely done writing this story! YAY! Now. I have a choice for everyone reading this. I have two new stories that I am working on right now but I need to focus solely on one. One is a direct sequel to this story called _Clint is Whom? _the other is the start of a new series called _Trapped in S.H.I.E.L.D._ The summaries are as followed.**

_**Clint is Whom?**_** \- **Something has happened to the entire group. No one knows what though. All they know is that when they woke up, they weren't in their right bodies anymore. What happened? Who did it? Why? What purpose does it serve? And how are they going to fix it before it becomes too late?

_**Trapped in S.H.I.E.L.D**_** \- ****A.U.** Clint Barton never wanted to be part of S.H.I.E.L.D. Never seemed like a good idea. Phil Coulson made a team to try and catch a rouge assassin that used an archaic weapon. But Phil Coulson wasn't able to get to Clint before suddenly the archer was standing before Director Fury saying that he wanted to be loyal to S.H.I.E.L.D. What happened in the middle? HYDRA has always been part of S.H.I.E.L.D, we know that now but back then... HYDRA used some sort of method to control the Winter Solider. Why wouldn't they use it again?

**Please review and vote on which story you would like me to work on next. Note, _Clint is Whom? _would involve all Avengers while the other would only involve Clint, Coulson, Fury and Hill. Maybe, Natasha if it got that far.**

**Any ways... Family life is settled. Husband is still not doing good but not really getting worse. Got a new primary doctor who seems more invested than our first doctor. Toddler Clint just had his first full week at day care and doesn't seem to mind it at all. Uh... Not much else to report.**

**Reviews!**

**Favorites: ** 2256

**Followers:** 2256

**Review Responses:**

_Niom Lamboise _\- Not as much Tony and Clint as I'd would have liked, but there is a bit here. More to come with them. I'm trying to space it all out between everyone. There was so much Tony and Pepper and Clint in the beginning and now, I'm trying to get everyone else to have their say. But, as this is a Tony, Pepper and Clint story, they do take up a majority of the story. lol.

_sammygirl1963 _ \- Yeah, I loved the bath scene too. In fact, as I was typing it all up, my son was in the bath splashing his father. So, I was just writing everything that was happening. Each thing that Pepper did, my husband did and everything that Clint did... Well, Clint did. Lol. Including the peeing on. As for the putting Clint to bed, this idea was actually from one of you guys. I can't currently remember who asked for it and don't have time to shift through the reviews but I followed through! Thanks for the prayers and I hope we can get answers soon. We finally have a primary doctor on his case that seems to want to get to the final answer as to what is wrong.

_MO-5431 _\- Thanks again and have a wonderful day as well.

_amy. d .fuller .9 _\- Yeah, Clint does seem to keep getting sick on people. I have so much fun with that. Blackmail material galore. And the peeing thing, oh god is that gross. My son was so bad, when he first started doing that to me, he actually would miss me and hit himself more times than not. I'd love to hear your speculations on how this whole story will end (specially as I now have the entire story completely written). Thanks for the good thoughts!

_Baby Hedgehog-Cute but Deadly -_ Glad I made you feel better. I'm trying to show (using Natasha, Pepper and even Hill) that mothering can be different depending on the person. Just because you don't mother a child the same as someone else it doesn't make you a horrible mother. It just makes you unique. As for the mother senses tingling, sometimes you just have to trust that 'Mother knows best'. (see what I did there lol.)

_Wholockian99 (Guest) -_ No problem. My writing is very important to me as I suffer from major depression and anxiety issues as well. Writing helps relieve me from these issues on a daily basis and publishing my writing for the enjoyment of others helps me with my depression and self worth. As for my plate being full with everything else, it's just life that everyone has to deal with and I want people to understand that I want to keep a constant update on my stories. I can't always post daily but I can always post weekly. Thank you for the well wishes.


	23. Chapter 23

"FORTY DOLLARS! ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME!?" Natasha loudly exclaimed (having not noticed prices of formula when she went out all those times before). Pepper, standing beside the spy, looked just as outraged. They were forced to go shopping after Clint's less than pleasing doctor's appointment. Course, they brought Clint back to the Tower before finding out that they had to go back out shopping again. Bruce hadn't wanted to leave his experiments, Tony hadn't been shopping since his debacle with leaving Clint and Steve had just went a few days prior.

"How can they get away with this?" Pepper growled as she grabbed the package of formula. At this point they had all learned to not buy in bulk as who knew if this formula was going to even work. She glanced over the size of the package to compare it to the sizes of the others that they had bought before. "Oh god! And it doesn't even have as much powder!"

"What a rip-off!" Natasha snapped, holding back her need to swear when a mother with a young boy came around the corner. The woman smiled to the two before moving on her way. Apparently, this woman had had similar issues had understood their problem. Pepper nodded to Natasha. It was about now that she almost wished that Clint's issue with formula actually did have to do with the serum and not a normal baby issue. Maybe then, they wouldn't have to spend so much money.

"I can't believe how expensive this is getting. How can anyone afford a kid?" Pepper moaned. Natasha shrugged, beginning to come to the realization that they were getting too worked up. She sighed and glanced over at the CEO. Pepper had placed her right hand over her stomach as if she had a stomach ache. The spy froze and watched as unconsciously, Pepper began rubbing her stomach as if soothing it. It was an action that Natasha had seen of many women before. Especially many women who shopped in this particular store. Natasha's eyes narrowed.

"Pepper?"

"Hmm?" Pepper hummed, still rubbing her stomach in an unconscious sign of fear. Natasha waited until the CEO was staring at her before glanced down at the woman's stomach. Pepper followed the gaze before hissing and removing her hand. "Oh my god! Please..."

"What?" Natasha hissed, feeling betrayed. Pepper shifted to grab Natasha's hands.

"Tony doesn't know yet. I actually just found out a few days ago," Pepper admitted. Natasha removed her hands from Pepper's and backed away. It felt as if a knife had been stabbed into her. She felt more betrayed than normal even though she had no true idea why. "I didn't want to tell anyone.

"We would have found out," Natasha muttered, turning away from the CEO. Pepper nodded.

"I know... But... We've all been so worried about Clint. I... I didn't want to add anything," Pepper moaned, sounding more distraught about being pregnant than anything. Natasha raised an eyebrow and turned back to look at her. "I've... I've been pregnant before. Three times actually. Each time I never made it past the third month."

"Oh, Pepper," Natasha admonished in pain. All the betrayal she had felt before vanished and was quickly replaced with guilt. She knew what it was like to feel as if one would never have kids. Pepper gave a soft sob.

"I... I haven't told anyone that," Pepper whispered. Natasha sighed before pulling the woman into a hug.

"We'll deal with this. Can't be much harder than taking care of Clint," Natasha joked. Pepper laughed and nodded. For once, she was glad that someone would know. Every time she had kept silent and grieved the loss by herself. Now... Now she had someone to share it with.

* * *

"Oh god! Dear lord! What the hell did you eat?" Tony groaned. Clint snorted as he kicked his legs up higher into the air. The air shifted and sent a fresh wave of horror up toward Tony's face. Tony blanched. "Holy hell! How can one produce such smells?"

"Well, everything he eats gets digested," Bruce hissed out from the other side of the room. His face was contorted into disgust. He couldn't stand this smell at all. Heck, his stomach was turning in revulsion and Bruce feared he might just throw up. Thankfully, the longer he stood there the more he was getting used to it, but in case Hulk decided he was done, Bruce wanted to wait on the other side of the room. To be rather honest, Bruce was surprised that he couldn't stand the smell that Clint had produced. Normally, he was fine with smells. But what Clint had produce was making his stomach roll so badly, that Bruce was amazed he was keeping down his most recent meal.

"What did he eat to produce this smell?" Tony growled, grabbing at a handful of wipes to drop down onto Clint's dirty naked butt. Clint chuckled and kicked his legs again. Tony groaned when the baby's butt dropped back into the still dirty diaper below him. "Clint, don't do that!"

"Honestly, I don't think anyone has figured out why poops smell so much worse than the food that went in," Bruce admitted. Tony growled as Clint began arching his back away from the diaper and ended up flipping toward one side as Tony had only a hold of one foot. Bruce chuckled lightly at the scene. It was beginning to turn really funny. Clint was normally nice to the others and didn't tend to fight them when it came to changing. But this was this first time Clint had ever been like this. It was also the first diaper that Bruce would classify as diarrhea. Then again, to help clean the poop from his body, Bruce had suggested a puree of prunes. Apparently it had worked too well.

"Stop squirming!" Tony snarled as he grabbed at another wipe and went for a back swipe. Clint dropped his butt down, pushing Tony's hand down into the dirty diaper below. Tony screeched and let go of Clint entirely. The baby dropped into the diaper, re-messing up his butt. Bruce snorted before looking away. He knew that he couldn't help and laughing was just going to make matters worse. "Son of a-"

"Tony!" Steve snapped as he entered the room. "What is tak... My god! What is that?"

"Clint!" Tony cried as he tossed his hands into the air. Steve smirked at the fact that one looked to be covered in a similar greenish brown slop to the mess in Clint's diaper. Clint was laying on the changing table with a rather large smile on his face. Bruce still stood off in a corner of the room trying to get used to the smell. "I'm done! I'm seriously done with this!"

"Tony, come on," Bruce admonished, trying to get the billionaire back to changing their friend's diaper. Tony stormed off, leaving Clint alone on the table. Steve rushed over, after having Clint fall (now) a few times, no one liked leaving him alone anymore. His face scrunched at the smell that was around Clint. Super senses, like his, were not as cool when dealing with this. He glanced over at Bruce, wondering if the doctor would help but Bruce didn't move. Steve sighed and began getting to work. "It's not that bad."

"Oh yeah! You go change him! You let him stick your hand in that... That... SHIT!" Tony snapped. He then turned to look at Steve. Maybe the super soldier would agree with him. "Prunes... Prunes are forever banned!"

"We needed to clear his constipation," Steve moaned, holding his breath as much as possible as he worked on cleaning the rest of Clint's butt. He had lifted the baby's legs into the air, removed the dirty diaper and place the clean one underneath before taking wipes to Clint's messed up skin. Clint let out a toot of gas and snorted at Steve's disgusted face. The little archer than gave the soldier a look that basically seemed like 'what can you do, I'm a baby.' Steve sighed and quickly finished before dropping Clint's butt down and strapping the diaper down to his body.

Clint gleefully kicked his legs. He was loving making his friends sick with his poop. This was the first time anyone seemed really bothered by anything he had ever done. Yeah, they got upset when he went into the vents or hid in the cabinets but it was nothing like this. This was making them visibly sick and it didn't phase Clint in the least. Well, no... He couldn't say that. The smell did get to him a bit but it was nothing like what was going on with the others. Clint couldn't wait until the girls were home and he could do this to them. Already he could feel the prunes working their magic on another diaper.

"Forever banned!" Tony shouted. Bruce chuckled as Steve tossed the diaper in the trash. The doc was loving this reaction too much. Clint proudly smiled at the genius. Tony snarled. He was going to plan his revenge for when Clint returned to normal. The archer was not going to get away with this. Steve picked Clint up off the table and turned to his friends. With the diaper now tossed in a odor erasing bag, Bruce was free to come further into the room.

"Come on. It's almost time for the girls to return and dinner," Bruce said. Clint clapped his hands together in glee. Tony scowled, wondering if Pepper would make him change Clint again with that mess going on down there. The genius swore he'd never do it again. Heck, at this point, Tony was beginning to wonder if it was possible to design a robot or something that could change a baby itself. Steve moved toward the door to the room as Clint started to switch his hand signals. Bruce held a hand up to stop the soldier. Natasha had been teaching them all sign language. Bruce pretty much knew some basic signs and the alphabet. So Clint's signal, his hands shaped almost like little mouths that moved together till the tips of his fingers touched, was familiar. It was the sign for 'more'. Bruce frowned. "More what?"

Slowly, Clint used his hands to sign 'p', then 'r', followed by a 'u', then 'n' and finally 'e'. Bruce laughed. Steve wasn't as well versed in sign language as the doctor, so he just confusedly stared at Bruce. Tony, his mind filled with so much other things, couldn't remember even the most basic of signs at the moment so all of it was lost on him. Making sure Tony couldn't see, Bruce mouthed 'prunes' to Steve, who just chuckled in return. Bruce shook his head no, which made Clint re-sign 'prune' with more urgency. The little archer wanted to be prepared with a new load by the time the girls returned.

"Is he signing prunes? What part of banned does he not get?" Tony cried from the doorway. Steve chuckled as Bruce outright laughed. They moved again to begin leaving the room. When Steve went to pass by Tony, the genius leaned closer to Clint. "I'll leave you in that fucked up stench."

Clint chuckled at the genius before signing 'prunes' again. Bruce snorted and walked off before hearing the rest of what was going to happen. Steve smiled as Tony rolled his eyes. Apparently, Clint didn't take the threat seriously. The group arrive back onto the main living floor in time to see Pepper and Natasha finish putting their shopping items away. Clint cried out in joy at seeing the two woman. Pepper had been acting a lot like the mother of the family. She fell into the role so perfectly, that Clint sometimes found his mind calling her 'mom' rather than 'Pepper'. But right now Clint wasn't focused on Pepper. Natasha had been avoiding him as of late. Something that he was honestly getting sick of. So, he prepared a surprise for her, if he could get it right.

"There you are," Pepper told the baby as she moved to take him out of Steve's arms. Clint arched around her to stare at Natasha who was watching him with a narrowed gaze. Pepper glanced up at Steve, surprised by the action but didn't argue. Clint was sometimes rather picky about who held him and when.

"Na!" Clint cried, the first sound outside of crying and laughing that he had made since being turned into a baby. Everyone froze at the sound. It was such a shock to hear the archer's little voice. Tony's mouth dropped open. Bruce's eyes widened. Pepper moved a hand to cover her mouth. Steve almost dropped the baby and Natasha stiffened. Clint frowned when nothing seemed to happen but also because he hadn't gotten it fully right. He moved his mouth around a bit to try again, then he focused on Natasha. "Na!"

"Nat?" Steve pressed when he heard the faint sound of a 't' on the last try. Clint smiled, turning to look at Steve before nodding. Steve looked up at Natasha to see what the Russian was going to do. Natasha was frozen. She had no idea what to do. This was a first for everyone. Pepper began smiling and backed away so that Steve could move deeper into the room. Tony rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, listening to Clint try again. Bruce also began smiling and leaned against a nearby wall to watch.

"NA!" the archer called again, spinning around to face the red head. He held out his arms, a sign that said he wanted her to come over. Natasha unfroze and shifted to stop him from leaning out of Steve's arms. Not that the super solider would drop the baby but it was distressing for all of the to see Clint half hanging out of one of their arms.

"Ta. Na-ta," Natasha corrected, enunciating the 't'. Clint frowned as the spy gently pulled him out of Steve's arms and into her own. He responded by sticking his tongue out at her. She laughed good naturally before heading toward the couch a little ways away. Everyone slowly followed her lead. For some reason they all seemed to naturally gather here. More so now that Clint was a baby.

"Na-d," Clint tried, turning the 't' into more of a 'd'. He frowned again and shifted his mouth around. Natasha smiled as she plopped down on the couch, Clint bouncing into her lap. Pepper gently lowered herself into the seat beside the spy. Steve moved to stand behind Natasha and looked down on the group. Bruce headed across the room and draped himself into a overly large comfy chair that Thor tended to use as it was one of the only ones big enough to fit his massive form. Tony stood near the entrance, watching them all.

"Give it up kid. Your tongue ain't ready," Tony joked, loving that Clint couldn't do it. Clint pouted for a moment. Then he looked at Tony. He was determined to get this right. While they didn't know this, Clint had gotten it right before when he was in his room. Thankfully JARVIS had kept it quite.

"NAT!" Clint shouted at the genius, sounding clearer than ever before. Tony stumbled back in faux shock and held a hand over the Arc Reactor. The others laughed at the sight. Clint had a huge proud smile on his face before pointing at the billionaire. "-Ony... Dony... Ta... Ta... TONY!"

"Good job!" Pepper praised. Clint smiled as he turned to Bruce. This name had been difficult to do. Heck, Clint still wasn't sure he'd be able to say it but, he had to give it a go. He had only gotten it right once before. The others he had done multiple times before.

"Bu... Bur... Burru..." Clint growled out in effort. Bruce laughed at the attempt. Clint frowned. He had done it so much better when he practiced in his bedroom when no one but JARVIS watched.

"Try Rob," Bruce suggested. Clint's face brightened. He knew it wasn't often that Bruce actually shared that name.

"Rob?" Tony questioned, being one of the only ones who hadn't actually fully read the other's files. As much as the others assumed that he had, he really hadn't. Bruce shrugged, trying to blow this all off as nothing.

"Bruce is actually my middle name. My name is Robert Bruce Banner," the doc admitted. Knowing Tony would question it further, Clint took his attempt.

"Rob!" the archer loudly declared. Already his mouth was adjusting well to the new attempts at speaking. Clint had been practicing a lot as sign language tended to take a toll on his fingers. And it was a rather slow form of communication. He then turned to look up at Steve. The super solider was proudly smiling at Clint as if the archer was his own little baby boy. In the back of his mind, Clint wondered how everyone would react when he returned to normal... Well, if he returned to normal. But rather than dwell on those dark thoughts, Clint went for Steve. "Sss... Ssta... Ssste... Steve!"

"Awesome," Tony called, finally dropping on the seat beside Natasha. The Russian looked a bit miffed at being trapped by the other bodies but it was becoming a thing she was quickly getting used too. Whoever held Clint normally ended up surrounded. Clint then turned to Pepper but as he opened his mouth, she held a finger up to stop him.

"Go for Pep," the CEO told the baby. Clint nodded with a small smile. Tony was usually the only one who got to call her that. A quick glance at the genius to make sure he didn't care, and Clint went for it.

"Pep," he said, getting really used to speaking now. Clint was almost certain that he'd be back to speaking soon. He had been afraid to try before and during his practicing in his room, Clint could imagine Tony making fun of him... But after all that, it wasn't that bad. In fact, Tony didn't make fun. The genius actually seemed rather pleased with it all. So now, after three weeks of silence, Clint knew he had a lot to start saying to the others.

* * *

Clint didn't get much practice speaking after all that. Once over the fact that Clint could now speak, the others started to go about their daily business. Natasha put Clint on the floor to get up and go to the bags that had been left unpacked in the entry way. When she returned, she emptied them to show that the girls had bought him new toys. Clint smiled and began getting to work on playing with them. Mostly they were educational toys that helped with his motor skills and such, so as much as the archer thought they were stupid, Bruce pressed him into knowing that they were important. Who knows how all of this would affect his future. If he didn't practice motor skills now, would that hinder him when they returned him to normal? So as a just in case, Clint practiced everything and tended to act like a real baby.

(Pepper spoke with Tony about Stark Industries type work while Steve and Bruce spoke about the whole returning Clint to normal. Bruce had to finally give in and contact as many people as he could. S.H.I.E.L.D gave them some names, like a Doctor Stephen Strange, Dr. Hank Pym and Dr. Reed Richards, that Bruce originally hadn't thought about asking but at this point... Bruce had no other choice. Clint needed to return to normal and Bruce couldn't do it. Maybe someone out there could give an answer. Natasha left after dropping off the toys. But it was no surprise. It was her turn to call for dinner so she was most likely doing that.)?

It was maybe an hour later that a movie was on in the background and pizza boxes sat abandoned on various flat surfaces that Clint felt it. He had to go to the bathroom. But as of now, he was still in a diaper, something he actually enjoyed immensely. One would normally think that if they got turned into a baby that they'd be embarrassed when their friends had to change said diaper but there was something rather soothingly pleasant about it. And the mess Clint made this morning was just fun. The smell had actually bothered him slightly but apparently, not as much as Tony. And it was always fun to bother Tony.

So, now that everyone was relaxed and paying attention to the movie, Clint scrunched up his face and pushed it out. The sound was loud enough to be caught over the sound of the movie. Pepper and Natasha stiffened, it was a new thing to actually hear Clint go to the bathroom before them. Clint wanted to smile but he wasn't done yet. Another push and another noise had Bruce tense and glance down at Clint. Seeing the face, Bruce gently placed a finger on his nose and turned to watch the movie. Steve, seeing the doctor move, snorted and followed suit, already beginning to smell what Clint was doing in his diaper. This type of 'game' had been going on for a while now and Steve was rather quick to pick up on, even if you don't know what is happening, if someone is doing it, follow suit. Then...

"Oh, GOD!" Tony shouted, rocketing out of his seat and backwards. His hand flew to his face in an effort to block the smell. Pepper cringed, having been right next to Tony and now beginning to smell it all. "Fucking prunes!"

"Wow, that's pungent," Pepper commented as Natasha crinkled her nose. The spy nodded and focused on Clint who had stopped adding to it and now stared at the two girls as if it was their turn. Tony glanced at Bruce and Steve and noted their fingers pressed to their nose and shifted his to do the same as he moved further away from Clint. Pepper sighed and turned to look at the men. "Really?"

"You've got to be kidding," Natasha growled after a quick scan of the room. Clint grunted as he got to his feet. The mess was shifting around between his legs and was feeling really weird. Plus, the smell was quickly bothering him. Maybe Tony did have a point about prunes. The baby began toddling over toward Natasha and Pepper. Pepper took it in stride and just focused on Clint but Natasha seemed to act like Tony. She was shifting in her seat to try and get away but not actively moving away like the genius had. As Clint bypassed Pepper and moved more toward Natasha, the spy stuck a foot in the air, a foot that Clint bumped his chest into and leaned against in a faux effort to get closer. "Hell no. Go to someone else."

Taking the hint, Clint plopped down in front of Natasha and looked at the two woman. Neither moved. Almost as if they were waiting for someone else to step up but the men had all backed out. They dealt with Clint last time and judging by the smell alone, this one was worse than last time. Natasha glanced around once again. None of the men had removed their fingers. Her eyes narrowed making Tony's finger slip only slightly as he debated being killed by Natasha or the changing of Clint's diaper.

"You're all children," Pepper grumped before standing. She moved quickly, grabbing Clint and heading toward the bedroom and changing area. Clint looked back at Natasha, giving off a baby pouting face. The spy groaned as Bruce spoke.

"We already dealt with it," he pointed out. Pepper frowned. She expected this behavior from Tony but from Bruce and Steve? Heck, she always imagined that Steve would be the first to help out. But there he sat with Bruce and Tony, finger still gently touching his nose. She waved her hand at the men in aggravation before stalking off down the hall. "You'll need help."

"You offering?" Natasha snarled before standing as well. Bruce shook his head and tapped the finger on his nose. Natasha rolled her eyes. "Children!"

"Prunes are officially banned! For good!" Tony screamed after the retreating women's backs.

* * *

**4087 words this chapters. A little shorter, sorry. Prunes, tee hee. The first time my father had to change a diaper that was made after a meal of prunes happened thanks to my first niece, Jen. When he opened the diaper and saw what was waiting for him, he nearly screamed before looking to my husband and myself and saying 'This ain't poop, it's shit.' And he continued to say that to the entire building until my brother came to pick her up. Then my dad told him. My brother just laughed until my dad 'banned' prunes from being given to any child the day before coming to see him. Hence most of this chapter, lol.**

**Toddler Clint is doing well. No big issues going on. He's been getting excited about going to daycare, comes home and makes a mess in the backyard with his water table, sandbox and inflatable pool. Right now he is in the living room, shouting down the hall because I tried to play a game of 'scare the baby' and I thought he was done... Apparently not. 'Scare the baby' is basically when I hide around the corner of a door, object or over all just place myself out of his sight. Once he is looking for me or I know he is close, I rush toward him going 'ooga booga boo'. As scary as this sounds, he screams but laughs and even asks for me to do it over and over again, so he loves this game.**

**My husband has been pretty much level with his illness now. It isn't getting worse but it isn't getting better. He is dizzy, nauseous, tired and overall sick basically every minute of every day. Some dizziness can be taken away when he wears a hat on his odd. Sounds odd, we know, but it works. The doctors seem pretty much lost on what could be bothering him and all I can think of is that this reminds me of what I made Clint (the story version) suffer through in _Clint is Sick?_. But, who knows. The doctors are doing everything they can, it just seems to be taking forever.**

**Any ways. The votes have been pretty much cast. _Clint is Whom?_ seems to be the winning story. You can continue to cast votes until this story is over and each week, whichever has the highest amount of votes will be the story I am mainly working on. As of right now, _Clint is Whom?_ is into chapter four. _Trapped in S.H.I.E.L.D _is on chapter three. So, they aren't far apart but that was because I did most of my work on _Trapped_ before asking readers. Thankfully, _Clint is Whom?_ is such a fun story that it's getting written pretty fast. I wouldn't be surprised if I had it finished before this story even was finished being posted. lol**

**Review Responses:**

**Favorites: ** amy. d .fuller .9

**Followers:** latinagirl-reader2010, Alibird1, meriadoc33

**Review Responses:**

_Niom Lamboise _\- Looks like _Clint is Whom?_ is going to win. Basically every vote cast has been for that one. I am now working on chapter four of that and am so excited for what I've been able to do. Can't wait until you can all read it.

_MO-5431 _\- I'm glad you think both stories sound great. Both stories will be posted in the end, I just wanted to focus more on one than the other. And I agree, hopefully he will feel better soon. Hopefully we can get an answer as to what he's been suffering with.

_amy. d .fuller .9 _\- First, thank you. Second, this is mostly an actual experience with our son's doctor. She kept saying that he needed formula and we couldn't switch him to milk until he was almost one and so we'd keep trying new formulas. Each formula we tried, he had to be on for a minimum of a week to have his body get used to it and then see if it continued to happen. She also didn't tell us until he was already a few months late that he should have been having pureed food and such. She wasn't the best doctor for helping out first time parents who basically were lost and needed help. And Third, I love all your theories. Most of them where theories that I played around with as well. Can't wait until you read the final product and see what you think of it. Hopefully it's as good as you expect.

_Baby Hedgehog-Cute but Deadly -_ lol, I love reading when people get upset at my characters. That's what I was working for. As for Science Bros logic, they have no idea what could be happening to Clint and are just guessing. For all any of them know, Clint has been slowly and permanently losing his memories and replacing them with memories of this second time around at this age. As for the Pepper and Natasha mommy sense, a lot of men (nothing against men just personally noticed this) seem to think that the 'mommy sense' is just normal woman paranoia. Not saying that any of this is what is happening here, just mentioning.

_Wholockian99 (Guest) -_ I'm glad to hear that you got over your depression and have been free for over 9 months. Sadly, mine is mostly hormonal so I can only be fixed with medication and we've been having issues finding the right kind. As for the story, that's what we tried with our son as well until the toy or whatever became a projectile to throw at whoever was changing him. Now it's a two person job. One person changes him, the other distracts him by playing games like hide and seek.

_bookwormgirl (Guest) _ \- _Clint is Whom?_ again has a vote. As stated before, it seems every vote has been for that one. You are welcome, tee hee.

_Alibird1_ \- Glad you love this story. I loved the idea of it since being pregnant with my son. Once my husband and I decided to name our son, Clint, this story had been bugging me. I'm so glad that I was able to finish writing it and now am able to share it with everyone. Toddler Clint is managing well. There are some issues with him learning new words and such that may have to do with hearing issues or something else but we are working on it. My husband still is ill with an unknown illness and we can't wait for answers. He just had a test on his gallbladder yesterday and we are now waiting on the results. Hopefully that will give us an answer and we won't have to wait for more tests.

_Naomitrekkie _\- Glad you have been enjoying this story. As for the wet nurse idea, I never thought of that. Personally, I never had one and don't know much about the idea. As for buying pumped milk, I'm not sure how safe that is. All I can think is Tony going to buy some and it coming in and the milk being from an animal rather than a person... Another vote for _Clint is Whom?_ as well. I hope you enjoy this bodyswap fic. How many others have you found? I keep looking and haven't found as many as I would have liked.

_Guest_ \- I'm happy that you love the concept of this story. About the Beta, I know it would be a good idea but the last time I tried a Beta writer, they stole my idea. It wasn't on this account, it was on an older account and the person had their friends threaten to delete my entire account if I had their story (basically mine with crappier writing) deleted once again. At the time, would do nothing to help me. I do try and go over my work before posting but I know personally I have an issue with tenses and spelling. Maybe my use of commas is a bit wrong as well but I like using them to break up sentences or to show that readers should pause a second before reading the rest. A lot of times I do add a lot of additional words, lines or paragraphs and most times, those don't get edited. But, I do try. I'm sorry that it interrupts the flow and wish I could do more but I just don't trust someone that I don't personally know when it comes to my stories.


	24. Chapter 24

"I think I'm gonna be sick," Natasha complained, grabbing at her nose as Pepper pulled down the shorts Clint had been wearing. Clint chuckled at the spy as he kicked his legs in the air. Without the clothes, the smell wafted further into the room and was much stronger. It was fun seeing the normally bland and serious spy turning green at a simple dirty diaper. Clint could see that Natasha was actually suffering more than even Tony. It pleased him to no end. Pepper frowned at the duo before nudging Natasha away. Some people just didn't have the stomach for dealing with babies' diarrhea or even vomit. If Natasha was going to get sick, Pepper really didn't want to have to deal with Clint and then Natasha.

"Not on him!" Pepper told the spy. Natasha turned away as Pepper pulled on the diaper tabs and opened the mess. It was everywhere. The spy gagged and backed away even more as Pepper grabbed a wipe from a container not far away and dropped it over Clint's privates. As much as Pepper didn't believe Clint would willingly pee all over her, she knew that sometimes the archer had no control over his little body. Besides, he had done it to her once before already and she did not want a repeat event. Clint giggled and reached down to grab at it as Natasha turned back to see the damage. Pepper gently tapped the little hand making Clint pull it back with a small frown. It was one of the first times that he had been 'punished' by one of his friends. Pepper gave him a stern look even as she worked on cleaning his lower half. "Leave it."

"That horrid smell," Natasha groaned as Pepper lifted Clint's behind off the dirty diaper so as to get to his back end more easily. The smell shifted up with it and hit Natasha straight in the face as she moved forward to help hold Clint's rear off the diaper. Gagging, Natasha coughed. Pepper ignored it and easily passed Natasha the legs as she began steadily wiping the mess off of Clint's butt. Clint let out a coo of laughter before his stomach contracted and a little 'pew' sound came from below. The smell that followed made Natasha turn away as she tried her best not to release her stomach contents. "Fuck... How can you stand being that close?"

Pepper chuckled as Clint smiled and waved his hand up at the CEO. Honestly, Pepper was offended by the smell but it wasn't as revolting as Natasha made it sound. Pepper just pushed aside her issues and worked as quickly as possible. She shifted the dirty diaper away from Clint's rear and replaced it with a clean one. Thankfully, she was almost done.

"Tony made some really nasty smells in the name of science. I got pretty used to it. Also, I had to watch a couple of nieces and nephews in my time. Got used to changing them pretty quick," Pepper explained as she finished cleaning Clint up. Natasha snorted and dropped the archer's legs so that Pepper could close up the new clean diaper. The CEO took that as her chance to look over at Natasha. "Hey. Doesn't mean I still don't find it nasty. Trust me, I was very similar the first time I had to deal with a poopy diaper. And that looked nothing like this one. It was much cleaner and didn't smell as bad."

"Oh..." Natasha grumbled, unsure if she believed the woman or not. Pepper quickly wrapped up the messy diaper and tossed it toward the bin before redressing the archer. Clint chuckled and helped as much as possible before Pepper lifted him and made him stand on the table, using her shoulders as support on the uneven mattress. Pepper then looked back to Natasha. The spy looked upset.

"Something wrong?" Pepper prodded. Natasha looked up, confused before covering it with a faux smile. Pepper frowned at the rather poor attempt to hide it.

"No... Yeah, I'm good," Natasha replied, picking Clint up off the changing table. She turned to leave the room but Pepper caught her arm. A quick trading of looks made Natasha sigh and place Clint down on the floor. Clint frowned before crawling off toward the few toys that littered a corner of the room. Girl conversation was something he didn't need to hear. Besides, he assumed that most of this was something about him and that Natasha didn't really want him to overhear it. "Okay fine... I... I feel like a mess."

"How so?" Pepper asked. Natasha shrugged. It was hard to explain how she felt. Slowly, she glanced over at Clint.

"Well... It's like you've been waiting for this moment. You are prepared to care for him and ready with answers... You know what to do, how to do it and even how to handle it all... I... I have no idea what to do. Heck, I had to have you tell me how to change Clint before I even knew how to do it myself..."

"Oh, Natasha," Pepper cooed, pulling the spy into a quick hug. Natasha tensed for a moment before relaxing into it. She was feeling a little better by the time Pepper pulled back. The CEO held her in place though by gripping both arms. "It's nothing like that! I've been around a lot of babies and new moms. I watched them. Heck, I had my sister standing over my shoulder telling me step by step instructions on how to change her baby girl the first time I tried. Trust me, I would have been lost too."

Natasha looked away as if she didn't believe the CEO. Pepper sighed and shook her head, lost in memories of long ago.

"Mothering, surprisingly enough, isn't something that we all innately know. We watch others, learn through trial and error and sometimes we get it wrong. My brother got his first changing wrong. He put the diaper on too tight and had his little boy crying for almost ten minutes before he realized. Never mind the times when he put it on and his son pooped outside the diaper. That boy seemed to live in his little bath tub for two weeks before my brother got it right," Pepper laughed

Natasha sighed deeply. It made her feel a bit better knowing that other women had felt the same way in the past. But she almost felt as if there was something else wrong. No... As if there was something personally wrong with her. Before she could really focus in on it, something tugged at her pant leg. Looking down, the spy noticed Clint was staring up at her. His silvery blue eyes were full of concern. He had heard the whole thing and felt as if some of this was his own fault. What if he had done something to Natasha to make her feel like this? And if he did, what could he do to fix it?

Natasha gave the baby a small smile before leaning down and picking him up. Pepper silently watched the duo as Natasha wrapped Clint up in her arms. Clint then flung his arms around Natasha and tried his best to hug her, which almost made Natasha want to cry. It just showed the CEO what she was trying to say all along. Natasha was doing fine. Yeah, she may not know all the ins and outs of being a mom, but she was doing fine. Clint knew that too.

"I don't know Pepper," Natasha moaned after settling Clint onto her hip. Clint leaned against Natasha's side as if he was tired and about to take a nap on her. Pepper moved closer to the spy in case the woman needed another hug. Natasha just looked at the CEO. "I... I'm no good at this. I just feel like something in me is... missing..."

"Natasha, you are doing wonderfully. So what if you can't handle a poopy diaper? Or you get stressed when he cries and you can't explain it. It's natural," Pepper described. Natasha nodded. Pepper placed a hand on either side of the spy to force Natasha to face her. Slowly, Natasha looked at Pepper. The CEO gave the spy a soft smile. "Nothing is missing. You are not... Not fit to be a mother. In fact, I trust you over Tony to take care of my little unborn babe right now."

Natasha chuckled in relief as Clint's mouth dropped. Pepper was pregnant? That was news to him. Pepper smiled. It was good to talk about it. Felt nice. Normal even. Heck, she didn't even care that now Natasha wasn't the only one who knew. It wasn't like she didn't trust Clint or anything but... He could barely speak right now. She patted his head to calm him down but all he did was smile, grab her hand with both of his and shake it as a way of congratulating her. Pepper laughed before looking to Natasha.

"Everything good?"

"Yeah," Natasha replied. She looked down at Clint who turned to face her with a proud smile. The spy smiled back. "Everything's perfect."

* * *

"Sir, I am so not qualified for this," Hill said, her arms outstretched far in front of her as Clint squirmed in her tight grip. She had her hands in his armpits and he had never realized how uncomfortable that was for a baby. All his weight was dragging him down into her hands which were lifting higher into the sensitive tissue of his pits. For what it was worth, the squirming wasn't helping either but Clint was trying to find a way to relieve the pain. He whimpered which made her twitch her fingers, digger her nails into the flesh and caused more pain.

"Hill," Clint pitifully whined at the woman, grasping her forearms to try and make her pull him in closer. Hill grimaced at her name and tried to push him further away. Hearing him say her name sounded so wrong. Clint frowned. That was so not what he had intended to have happen. He wanted her to pull him closer and hold him differently.

"I have work to do. I can't be expected to watch him," Fury argued back, watched the scene with only a glint of humor in his one good eye. Hill, having worked with the director long enough, could clearly see what Fury was doing. She frowned, glancing quickly at Clint, who was now looking close to tears, before focusing once again on Fury. Slowly, she began to move toward the director, almost as if she would scare him off at any second.

"Sir, with respect. I am currently the Avengers acting handler and as they are away on a mission, I can't watch... This," Hill stated, pushing Clint into Fury's chest with the last word. Clint's eyes widened in surprise at Hill's hostility. So far, the women he had dealt with in this new situation had pretty much fawned over him. Including Natasha (though she did have her own private issues she dealt with she still wasn't like this). Could it just be that Hill really hated him this much no matter what age he really was? Fury would have laughed at his second in command if it wasn't for the fact that he was just as uncomfortable with taking care of the once top agent as well.

"That's right, you're the Avengers handler. Clint Barton is an Avenger, even if he is currently a baby. So, handle him," Fury countered. Feeling he made his point clear, Fury turned to walk off. Hill looked down at Clint, still dangling in her hands. His face was pouting and tears looked to be close to falling down his cheeks. She grimaced. Only once had Hill dared to watch someone's kid. It hadn't ended well. In fact, Hill has yet to ever speak to them again.

"Sir, if you leave me with this, you can expect my resignation," Hill loudly announced. The whole deck fell silent at the words as Fury froze in his steps. Clint's mouth dropped open in shock. He knew that Hill had never really cared for him but... To actually resign rather than watch over him? Seemed a bit extreme. Hell, she hadn't even tried. He wasn't even planning on being a handful. Pepper had asked before leaving on a business trip that he be on his best behavior and he was trying. Heck, he had been holding back his screams of pain for the past few minutes. Fury slowly turned to look back at Hill, who stomped toward him. She looked hurt and upset. "Last time I watched a kid, the boy got into a fight with me at the top of the stairs. When I tried to grab him and pull him to safety, he pulled back so hard he pulled free and fell down. He ended up getting brain damage from it. There is no way in hell I'm ever going to watch another kid again."

With that, Hill placed Clint against Fury's chest. Fury, unconsciously realized he lost, grasped the baby seconds before Hill let go. She paused long enough to make sure that Clint was good in the director's arms before spinning on her heel and stomping off to the console connected to the Avengers' ear pieces. Fury stood there for another few moments before shifting Clint into a more comfortable position for both of them. Pleased with the change in grasp, Clint gripped Fury's leather jacket to make sure it wouldn't shift again as he looked over the Director. With a sigh and a shake of his head, Fury turned to head to his office.

"Sir," Hill called out after Fury only made it a few steps. Fury looked back at her. Clint looked up over his shoulder, giving the woman a sympathetic look. She grimaced, unsure who she felt bad for more, Clint (the team mate) or Fury (the baby sitter). "The... Avengers are... Well, they're overwhelmed... This... Its gonna take a while."

Fury said nothing as he turned back and headed to his office. He opened the door and paused. There lying in the middle of the floor was a surprisingly large and overly stuffed bag. Apparently, Natasha, the one who had dropped Clint off, naturally assumed that Fury would be watching over the baby and had dropped it off. Fury growled lightly before entering and closing his door. With a deep sigh, he placed Clint on the floor, walked past the bag and headed over to the desk. Once there he sat down and began loading up the necessary software to be able to see and hear the battle that the remaining Avengers were currently locked in.

Clint sat on the floor for a moment just staring at Fury. He wondered what the old man would do if he unplugged the computer. Or chewed on the cords. Hell, maybe he could play with the large and dangerous filing cabinets? But no, Clint was supposed to be good for Pepper. Wouldn't be good for Tony and Pepper to get another call from OCFS, especially when Clint actually does know what he's doing now. Finally, he got bored enough to head over to his bag and check it out.

Peeking through the different pockets, Clint found diapers, wipes, purees, waters, bottles, formulas, multiple sets of clothes, a rather large amount of toys, and various other things that one might expect a baby to have for a weekend trip. Clint had to chuckle. Pepper must have been the one to pack this bag. She normally always packs for extreme conditions. At least he was prepared for anything. Including a freak snow storm in the middle of July. Then again... Considering his life style, Clint wouldn't be too surprised if that ever happened.

Heaving a great sigh of his own, Clint pulled out a toy from the bag that Bruce had explained would help with his arm muscle development. Something that Clint was working extra hard on now that he understood that it was important even as an infant as it could affect him as an adult. Not to say he wasn't working extra hard on other things as well, but... Couldn't hurt to do double work on his arms every now and then could it? It didn't take long after he started working on the toy before Clint heard the sounds of battle. Interested, Clint tottered toward Fury's desk. Right away, the little archer could tell the director was watching the battle on his computer.

Indeed the Director was. Fury had his multi-screen computer loaded up with the battle that had been connected into the city street's camera systems. Basically everyone available in S.H.I.E.L.D was watching to try and take over the one missing Avenger's spot. And amazingly, it still wasn't helping. The Avengers desperately needed their eye in the sky for this mission. They were being swarmed by hundreds of enemies that looked like Chihuahua sized bugs that were being remotely controlled by something out there on the battlefield. But no one could narrow it down.

"Furry... Up," a small voice demanded beside the director. Shocked, Fury looked down to see Clint sitting beside him, hands up in the air. Fury raised an eyebrow at the little archer. Almost as if he was daring Clint to demand something of him again. Clint looked placated by the eyebrow before speaking again. "Up... Pwese?"

Fury rolled his eyes at the completely adorableness of the little archer before reaching down and picking the baby up. Gently, the director placed Clint in his lap. Clint smiled, pleased at the outcome before leaning forward on the desk to look at the many screens before him. He may currently be a baby right now, but Fury was right... He was still an Avenger and damn it all, he was going to help. Fury waited a moment as he stared down at Clint before looking back up at the screens and then down at Clint. Finally he cleared his throat.

"We tell no one of this," Fury growled, unaware that Tony had JARVIS previously hack the systems to record whoever watched over Clint. Clint nodded, not really caring that he was sitting on his boss's lap until he felt a now familiar grumbling of his stomach. He grimaced. While it had been fun making his team mates suffer through changing his diapers, having his boss do the same would not be as fun. Mentally cursing prunes as he clenched his butt to try and hold back the inevitable, Clint squirmed. Fury didn't seem to notice any issues. No more than a minute later... It slipped free.

SPLURT

"What the fuck was that?" Fury groaned. Clint curled up in the older man's arms. The smell was slow to follow this time as it was trapped in the diaper and behind clothing. Clint knew when it reached the director's nose. It hit when Fury stiffened in his seat. The arm that held the archer tightened. "The hell?"

"I... Pooped..." Clint whimpered, unsure what was going to happen next. Fury looked down.

"Ah, hell no." With that, he placed Clint down on the floor and began to try and ignore both the baby and the smell that was beginning to fill his office. For a moment, Clint had no idea what to do. The only one who really ever refused to change him had been Tony but that was when someone had been around to do it instead. Right now, it was just Fury and Clint.

A minute or two passed with Clint still sitting on the floor beside Fury before even the smell began to bother him. Figuring maybe it was just that Fury didn't know the steps to take, Clint decided to help. Slowly, Clint headed over to his bag. Once there, he pulled out a diaper and the wipes (which were thankfully in a travel container). Then he looked back at Fury. Fury was busy watching the battle again. The Director didn't seem to notice that Clint was getting everything ready.

Unbeknownst to the duo, the Avengers had been using JARVIS's connections to see that Clint needed a diaper change. While Fury had video of the battle, he did not have the comm channel. And right now the comms were not being used to communicate battle information. All of the Avengers were threatening to quit the battle if Hill did not leave the main deck and go change Clint. Or at least make someone else change the poor archer.

"Furry? Sirr?" Clint softly called. Fury didn't even twitch. Clint sighed as the ventilation system kicked in and began clearing the smell from the room. At least that was one less thing to worry about. But apparently he wasn't going to get any help in the changing department from here.

Very slowly, Clint began to crawl toward the door, bringing the diaper and wipes along with him. The poop in his current diaper swished around and began to burn his butt as it more diarrhea than actual solid poop. Tears stared to form in Clint's eyes. No! He was not going to cry. He was going to get to the door and he was going to get help from someone else... Hopefully... By the time Clint reached the door, it opened to reveal a rather pissed off Hill.

"Sir, are you seriously refusing to change a fucking diaper?" she snapped, not even glancing down at the archer. Clint's eyes widened in shock as Fury turned from his screens. Her words registered and his good eye narrowed. Hill shook her head. "Stark has JARVIS spying on us. The AI claims that Clint needs a diaper change."

"I pooped," Clint moaned, pushing the diaper and wipes toward Hill in desperation. Hill gently kicked them back. She didn't come here planning on doing it herself. Clint's mouth dropped in shock. He thought she was here to help. God damn, he wanted to go home. Fury leaned back in his seat and waved his hand at the scene.

"Be my guest."

"Sir, Clint is supposed to be under your care. Caring for a baby includes changing a dirty diaper," Hill retorted. Fury looked up at Hill with his one good eye. His face pretty much dared her to risk making him change Clint's mess. Clint frowned, wondering when the hell his diaper was going to get taken care of. He didn't care who did it. His butt was really hurting and he wanted to go back to Avengers Tower... Now!

"Hill!" Clint groaned, shifting as he wanted to sit down but the poop was burning too much right now. If he sat, it would make it worse. Hill glanced down at him. She looked pissed but still nowhere near ready to actually do anything herself.

"The Avengers will stop fighting if he doesn't get changed. I need to go back on comms," Hill snipped. Fury's eyes narrowed further before waving his hand toward his couch as if welcoming her to do whatever she wanted. Hill narrowed her own eyes back at him. That was the main reason why she said she couldn't take care of Clint. She didn't actually know how to change a diaper. "SIR!"

"HILL! CHANGE THE FUCKING DIAPER!" Fury finally shouted back. Hill's eyes widened in surprise. She hadn't expected that. Slowly, Fury got to his feet. "I am the Director of a large organization that is a force of peace and protection. I run hundreds of thousands of agents and operations on a daily basis. I do not have time to change the diaper of a child."

"A child who is an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D," Hill growled as she leaned down to retrieve Clint, the diaper and the wipes. Fury raised an eyebrow, daring Hill to go on. Hill shook her head before heading over to the couch. In her anger and haste, she rather roughly dropped Clint down on the surprisingly hard cushion.

"Ow," Clint whined, reaching for his head. Hill winced but said nothing to soothe him. Instead she roughly removed his pants and started unbuttoning the onezie he was in. Clint whimpered at the treatment. He was sore from the long wait and the two day spree of diarrhea from the prunes. Hill then unstrapped the diaper and...

"Oh dear lord!"

"JESUS CHRIST!"

Clint cracked a smile as Hill backed away, holding a hand to her face. Fury pressed himself against the wall behind his desk, his shirt lifted over his nose and mouth. Hill, horrified at the sight and smell, looked over at Fury.

"I am not changing that!"

"Hell if you think I am!" Fury shouted back. Clint chuckled before kicking his feet in the air. A dangerous thing as the diaper was coated with the diarrhea poop and had twisted back toward him. His kicking almost had him planting both his feet in the mess. Forgetting that Clint was smarter than that, Hill and Fury rushed forward to grab his feet and stop them. Clint laughed as they both made faces at the sudden stronger smell.

"Again!" Clint laughed as he clapped his hands at them. Fury frowned as Hill released the legs. She grabbed the wipes, figuring that Fury would be decent enough now to hold the legs for her so she could clean Clint's butt. Slowly, she began to take a wipe and clean off small sections of his butt and now upper parts of his legs. Clint winced whenever she touched his butt which was beginning to look red and raw.

"How about never?" Fury hissed, silently helping Hill change Clint. The little archer giggled at the director. Hill frowned at Clint's butt.

"Director? Is it supposed to look like that?" Hill wondered. Fury frowned and lifted Clint higher so he could take a peek. The butt was bright blistering red. Fury grimaced. He had actually never gotten the chance to ever change a diaper himself so he actually didn't have a clue either. He shrugged. Hill frowned and took a wipe to the area and this time was a bit to forceful.

"Ow," Clint complained.

"Sorry," Hill whispered, wondering if it was from the redness or from her lack of experience. Once she was certain that she had cleared off all the poop, she grabbed the clean diaper and paused. She looked to Fury. "Uh... How do I put one of these on?"

"I thought women were supposed to know these things."

"I never had the chance to try. Didn't you have a kid?" Hill countered. Fury winced.

"Never changed her. Uh... Open it... I think there are flaps," Fury tried describing. Hill did as told. Clint chuckled.

"Oh boy... You two are hopeless aren't you?" Tony's voice suddenly called out through speakers. Fury and Hill didn't jump. Nope... They totally didn't. Not even a little twitch. "You open the diaper in half. Slid your hand down either half to get both halves open. The half with the yellow tags go underneath Clint's butt."

Hill grimaced as she followed the genius's instructions. She assumed that JARVIS was relaying the actions to Tony and that the AI had somehow broken into the Helicarrier's speakers so that the genius could speak to them. Honestly, she should be concerned. But a look at Fury showed that he looked slightly thankful for the billionaire's voice.

"Kay, now bring the top between his legs and hold the extra flaps down along his hips. Those yellow tabs, unhook them from the bottom and pull them to strap to the top image of the diaper. Yup, you got it," Tony cheered as Hill successfully managed to replace Clint's diaper. Clint smiled. "As for the red rash, JARVIS looked into online. He claims it might be diaper rash. Natasha is planning on buying some stuff for it after we finish with this mission. But don't worry. We'll have Bruce look into it and if he doesn't confirm, we'll go to Clint's pediatrician."

"Good. Now, hurry up and finish that fight," Fury demanded. Tony's laugh echoed over the speaker.

"Might be helpful if we could find the fu... I mean, idiot who's controlling these things," Tony stated. Hill glanced at Fury as she re-buttoned Clint's onezie. Fury frowned and mouthed 'idiot'. She shrugged before nodding down at Clint. He rolled his eyes.

"We're working on it Stark. Takes time," Fury snipped. They heard Tony sigh.

"Clint would have found him by now," the genius whispered before the speakers cut out. Fury and Hill traded looks wondering if that was meant to be heard by them or not.

* * *

**4797 words this chapter. Way to go me! Lol.**

**So we finally have some news on my husband! There is something wrong with his gallbladder. What, we don't know as of yet, but it is recommended he get it removed even though it may not help everything. The doctor told him that it won't hurt but he isn't positive that the gallbladder is the primary cause of his illness but it may be making it worse. So, now we have to wait till Tuesday to see our primary doctor, as her what she thinks, and then schedule the next step whatever it may be.**

**As for Toddler Clint, he is doing well. Still not speaking and only my husband and I and Early Intervention seem worried about this. Doctors seem to keep brushing it off as he has no issues but, we are beginning to believe he is having trouble hearing. Ironic ain't it. But we are thinking that this is the reason he can't talk, because he can't hear well enough to understand what we are saying to him. So, by the end of this month we will hopefully have him tested on that to see what is going on.**

**I believe that is all the updates I need. For updates on the sequel story _Clint is Whom?_ please check my profile.**

**Review Responses:**

**Favorites: ** sammygirl1963

**Followers:** *no one, sigh*

**Review Responses:**

_Niom Lamboise _\- Glad you thought it was funny.

_sammygirl1963_ \- I was looking forward to these next few chapters so much. I love the issues that I made everyone suffer through. Especially because most of the conversations are what my husband and I tend to go through every time. As for my writing, I know I'm not perfect and even though my major in college was Creative Writing, the school wasn't that great at helping me. But at least I can leave you with this, when this story ends, apparently I will be posting it's sequel story right after. And I already have 6 (almost 7) chapters done.

_amy. d .fuller .9 _\- Tee hee, made you love poop. JK. Yeah, I've been known to smell my son and then look down at him and convince him to go see his father just so I wouldn't have to change him. Other times I just ask aloud if someone farted, lol. As for Clint to starting to talk, I was getting tired of looking up the signs for what Clint wanted to say. And then it got hard to explain some of the movements as well. Thanks for the prayers!

_Wholockian99 (Guest) -_ The prunes was totally based off my father and my niece. Basically a true story of my life, lol. Thanks for the well wishes and I'm totally not looking forward to my son's school days. From pre-school all the way up till college. But I know he must grow.

_Alibird1_ \- I'm glad that you are laughing. Though one might think that after 23 chapters they'd learn not to read in public, lol. I test out all my work on my husband and if it isn't good enough, he helps make it better. We're a good time. No problem responding. I've been trying that for everyone lately. It seems to be working out well. Thanks for the well wishes on my husband.

_autumnsfire1_ \- The funny thing, I read your review at work and also had to work at not laughing out loud. I failed and had to explain to my father what I was laughing at. Needless to say, he even chuckled.


	25. Chapter 25

As soon as Hill finished dressing Clint, she handed the little archer over to Fury and silently took her leave. The faster she got out of there, the less she'd have to do to take care of the archer and the less likely she would be to hurt him. Or at least, that's what she believed. Heaving a great sigh, Fury looked down at the baby now placed in his arms. He had no clue what to do next. Clint, not knowing what was going to happen next, looked up at his boss. Apparently both of them were at a loss. For a moment they just stared at each other. Shaking his head, Fury shifted Clint around in his arms. They needed to get back to work and as he's stated numerous times already, baby or not, Clint was still an Avenger.

"You heard Stark. We need to find who is controlling those things..." Fury stated. A large wide smile appeared on the baby's face. For a second, Fury feared that Clint believed the director would bring him to the actual battle but then the old man came to his senses. Fury shook his head.

"I help!" Clint agreed as Fury began to head over to his desk. The little archer was surprised when seconds later he felt a slight up and down feeling that he had started to associate with laughing. But, Fury? Laughing? No... He couldn't be. Clint didn't spend an average amount of time with Fury and didn't tend to know about the Director's sense of humor. If the two actually did spend more time together outside of work, then maybe they would be better friends.

"Glad you're willing," Fury said back, sounding pleased and rather... Happy. Clint shuddered. He couldn't wait until he returned to normal. The people around him were suddenly acting really strange and it was starting to creep him out. And he was beginning to wonder if it really was because he was turning into a baby or not... "Now, let's get to work."

Fury plopped down in his seat rather harshly but was nice and gentle when it came to putting Clint into his lap. Shrugging it off, Clint focused on the screens before him. He had work to do. The faster he found this fucker, the faster he could get his friends to come and pick him up. A small yawn overcame him. He took a second to glance at a nearby clock. It was getting close to his normal nap time. Even though he was old enough to not need a nap, his body demanded it. Clint mentally cursed. The need to find this guy had increased. Thankfully, without the distractions of having to help his friends or the voices from the comms demanding he do certain things or even having to watch his own neck, it didn't take long for Clint to actually find the man in charge. The controller happened to be on the second computer screen, third image down and forth over. Clint pointed to it. Fury frowned.

"What?" Fury questioned, not getting that Clint was pointing out the main villain. Clint frowned now and pointed at the same area again, this time enforcing it with a loud grunt. Fury raised an eyebrow, looking between the little archer and the screen. "You want that enlarged?"

Clint's frown deepened even more but as he thought about it, he accepted. Might make it easier to point out the controller that way. Fury silently enlarged the image and amazingly he got the correct area on the first try. Clint smiled and leaned even further forward on the desk. Once he was certain that he wouldn't fall, he leaned on one hand and pointed to an area off to the left, hidden slightly in the shadows of a building. Fury leaned in himself to get a closer look.

"What?" Fury asked again. Clint grunted, pressing his finger on the screen to point the figure out. Fury moved again. "I don't... Oh... Is that. Is that the controller?"

"Ya!" Clint cheered. Fury's eye widened before reaching forward for a phone on his desk that Clint hadn't noticed. He pressed one button on it and released it. A moment later, it clicked. Clint frowned.

"What, Sir? I'm a little busy," Hill's voice snipped through the line. Clint's eyes widened before he looked to Fury. Fury smirked. Of course he'd have a direct line to Hill on his phone. Why wouldn't he? He was the director after all.

"Zoom in on Camera TT3104W," Fury commanded. There was a pause. One that Fury and Clint assumed that Hill was using to follow the direction.

"What am I looking at?" Hill growled afterwards. Clint rolled his eyes. Fury sighed. He honestly shouldn't be surprised. Specially seeing as he had acted the same way even with Clint actually pointing.

"On the left, in the building. That's your controller," Fury calmly replied. There was silence over the line. But before Hill could reply, a repulser blast decimated the area. Fury and Clint jumped in surprise. The enemies on the other screens dropped. Steve and Natasha cheered and Hulk began crunching the downed creatures.

"Ha! Thanks, Clint," Tony's voice called over the speakers. Clint laughed at Fury's dumbfounded face. They had forgotten that JARVIS had hacked the systems and so he was spying on them. Hence he had heard the whole conversation. And of course, JARVIS would know where the camera was located and been able to get Tony the target's location more than likely before Hill even spotted the guy on the screen. "So wait. Does this mean, he has to sit through debrief too?"

"He would have had to anyways, Tony. All his babysitters would have been in it," Steve's voice echoed back. Tony laughed.

* * *

"So, you're telling me that even as a five month old, Clint could pick out the man in charge before all of S.H.I.E.L.D?" Natasha growled, bouncing said babe on her knee. Clint chuckled at the feeling. Fury said nothing as he pretty much had since they arrived back on the Helicarrier. Hill at least looked a bit sheepish. Natasha's eyes narrowed. "Should we be worried?"

"S.H.I.E.L.D got along fine before the Avengers," Fury argued. Natasha rolled her eyes. Tony scoffed.

"Then Thor happened. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We heard it all before," Tony yapped. Clint chuckled again as Natasha bounced him higher in her agitation. Steve shook his head. He really should be more concerned with stopping this but... The fight had aggravated him along with the others. Just being down Thor and Hawkeye shouldn't have made them look and feel so lost. S.H.I.E.L.D should have been able to step up. "If you want, we could go on vacation and we'll see how well you can handle things now."

"Why do you think Clint was brought on as a S.H.I.E.L.D agent in the first place? Why do you think I allowed him to join the Avengers when so many objected it? I know he's good. Out of all of you, Clint is the only one not medically or mechanically enhanced. Yet, he still holds his own. Hell, I might be inclined to call him the best one out of all of you considering it is all him out there, but I don't... So BACK OFF!" Fury ordered. Tony backed down rather quickly at that. Natasha stopped bouncing Clint, who seemed shocked at the director's words. Steve looked slightly humbled, almost as if he hadn't thought about those facts before. Bruce seemed worried about the archer now. It had been pointed out before that technically, Clint was the only human on the team but... Clint had proven himself fine. But all it takes is one off day. "Now. Considering I can't get Hawkeye's report on this mission... We are going to act like Iron Man got lucky. Got it?"

"But," Steve started in protest, never liking when he was forced to lie on mission reports. Fury leveled a glare on him. It lasted a second before Clint let out a huge yawn that had been building since the beginning of the meeting. Fury smiled at the sight of it, and not about the fact that it was adorably cute. He pointed to Clint, who leaned back into Natasha's chest as Natasha shifted to allow him to curl up into her.

"We could sit here for a few hours, trying to rehash the whole battle from each person, keeping Clint awake the whole time. Or you can write your reports at the tower, saying in each of them, that Stark got off a lucky shot and let Clint nap. Which will it be, Captain?" Fury purposed. Steve frowned, looking his comrades over. Bruce always tended to need sleep after a battle and never did well in debriefs after a mission. Tony usually always tried to start fights even on his best behavior. Natasha and Clint were normally silent unless spoken too and even then used as little words as possible to be as unhelpful as possible but their reports were always filled with details. Steve sighed.

"Tower," Clint whined, tiredly before sticking his thumb into his mouth. A trait he had only recently picked up. One that Bruce told the others not to worry about as it was because he believed Clint was starting to teethe. Steve nodded. Fury grunted, grabbed the papers that he had brought with him that were basically blank filler paper to make it seem like they had already filled out stuff for this attack and left the room. Hill quickly followed on his heel. The Avengers were slow to follow after. Fury noted that Natasha still carried Clint and Steve had retrieved the bag that he had brought from his office.

* * *

By the time Clint woke from his nap that after noon, everyone had amazingly finished their report on the attack. And that meant everyone. Even Tony, the one who normally skipped paperwork. So that meant they were all prepared to play with the babe when he finally woke. A quick change of his diaper, a confirmation of a diaper rash and an addition of Destin cream to clear it up, then off they all went to the living room. At first, Clint basically wanted nothing to do with anyone. His stomach was grumbling and he just kind-of wanted to sit in a corner, surrounded by toys, and play by himself. But the others were basically, baby deprived.

"Clint, come here," Steve called, trying to entice him over with a bottle of water. Clint looked up at the sound of the super soldier's voice but didn't move from the corner he had plunked himself down in.

"Hey Clint, check this out!" Tony cried, smashing the remote control to a video game system connected to the large TV. Clint frowned and glanced over at the TV in time to see the genius pull off a rather poor attempt at a neat looking car trick in a racing game he had just bought. Of course, the genius didn't land it and when he didn't, he cursed. Clint rolled his eyes and went back to his toys. There was no way in hell he was going to move.

"Clint, want me to read you a book?" Natasha suggested. Clint groaned and looked up. At first he couldn't find her but then noticed she was sitting on his favorite window ledge on the other side of the room. For a moment he was tempted to go over and join her but... He was comfortable in his corner at the moment. And he didn't want to move. Instead he lay down on the ground. Natasha frowned and turned to look at Bruce, who was returning from the kitchen and held a container of puree. Clint's stomach turned at the smell of it.

"Hey, you feeling okay?" Bruce questioned. Clint shook his head. Frowning, Bruce put the puree down a good distance away and moved over to the baby. Tony paused his game and turned to look at them as Steve and Natasha stood to move closer.

"What's wrong?" Tony asked. Bruce, having just begun to examine the little archer, shrugged.

"Don't know yet."

"Stomach," Clint moaned.

"Are you hungry?" Natasha tried. Clint shook his head.

"Thirsty?" Steve wondered. Again, Clint shook his head no.

"Hurts," Clint groaned as it grumbled again.

"Like you feel ill?" Bruce inquired. Clint nodded but then paused. It wasn't entirely like that. Slowly he shook his head. No, this was different. Yet, familiar. Bruce frowned and leaned down to pick him up. He grunted. "You feel warm. I'm gonna bring you down to the medical area. Okay?"

Clint just simply nodded. He really didn't care anymore. Everything was hurting again and he just wanted it to stop. Bruce shifted to hold Clint tighter and was shocked to find that as he did so, he felt even heavier. Stunned, he looked over at Natasha and Steve but they couldn't feel what he felt. And they just seemed petrified by his look. With a sigh, Bruce covered his feelings and worked hard to mask it all so that no one would know that he had no idea what was going on. Slowly, as one, the group traveled down to the medical area.

When they arrived at the medical area, Bruce was shocked to note that Clint looked like he had grown slightly larger than his clothes. He frowned. Could the serum be reverting? Maybe all they had to do was wait it out and Clint would return to normal. That would be nice. But sadly, Bruce feared that that couldn't be the case. He had seen what the serum could do to his blood. Too many times had it turned his blood to dust by aging it too far into the future.

"Okay, Tony. Over there is Clint's file. I want to weigh him and compare the data," Bruce informed the others as he laid the pained baby down on the newest scale that the billionaire had bought for the medical area. The scale beeped as Tony had the file over. Bruce noted the number before accepting the file and opening it. He took a quick glance inside. "No... This can't be right," he said before readjusting the scale to weight Clint again.

"What? What happened?" Tony wondered, moving into Bruce's personal space in his worry over the little archer. Bruce pushed the genius back. Again the scale beeped and again read the same numbers as before. Bruce shook his head. "What Bruce!?"

"Clint... Gained over fifteen pounds in the past two days," Bruce muttered.

"How? We haven't changed his diet," Natasha complained.

"Hell, he's had diarrhea this whole time," Tony added. Bruce shook his head.

"I want to check his height," Bruce mumbled. Natasha and Steve shifted forward to help straighten Clint out as the baby had curled up in pain. Clint moaned but didn't fight back. Bruce was quick and once he nodded at the duo that he was done, they let go. None of them were really surprised to see Clint curl back up into a ball. Bruce checked the numbers. "He only grew a few inches..."

"He has been working on his muscle strength with those toys... Could it all be muscle?" Natasha suggested. Bruce frowned and shook his head as Clint cried out in pain. They all turned to look at him and were shocked to see a ripple of something rush through his body. As he was still on the scale, it recalibrated and beeped again. The numbers changed.

"Jesus. Did he just gain five pounds in like, two seconds?" Tony questioned, shifting to move closer. Bruce shook his head.

"Let's measure him again," the doc ordered. Natasha and Steve nodded, quick to grab the little archer. As they held him firm, another ripple passed through the baby's body. In their surprise, Natasha and Steve let go. Natasha let out a shriek of surprise. Tony and Bruce stopped what they were doing to focus on them.

"God, I felt that!" Steve cried in shock. "It was just like when I got the super soldier serum! He's growing!"

"Oh god, Clint," Natasha moaned, pulling the poor boy into a hug as a third ripple ran through his body. Clint whimpered in pain. This time she held him the whole way through.

"Jesus, the serum. It's reversing," Bruce cursed.

"At least he isn't de-aging anymore," Tony whispered, thankful for at least that bit of luck. Steve nodded.

"Natasha, get him out of those clothes and that diaper," Bruce commanded. Natasha nodded and quickly did as requested. She hadn't even really thought about it. His body had marks on them from where the ends of the items had sat and had been outgrown. Seeing those, Natasha even stripped the little archer of his diaper as a just in case.

Once Clint was nude, Bruce was quick to throw a towel over his growing body. Steve shifted to grab the archer and move him to a medical table and off the rapidly useless baby scale. The group watched as Clint grew older before their eyes. No one was sure what to do for a moment. Finally the billionaire looked to the others.

"Hey, at least he lost the diaper rash," Tony joked. Natasha smirked, though some tears leaked out of her eyes. Watching Clint go through this was somehow so much worse. And for some reason, Clint growing was much slower than him shrinking. Bruce had a small smile/frown on his face as he turned to Tony to give him a look that told the genius this might not be the best time to joke. Steve snorted, somewhat relieved for the joke. Clint kept growing.

"Looks like we missed potty training," Steve added when Clint kept growing. Natasha snorted now. Bruce smiled and let out one little laugh. If Steve was letting out a joke, apparently it was a good time then. Tony let out a couple of chuckles and shook his head. At least he wasn't the only one. Then again, Steve had been around Howard for a while. Especially during the time when Steve was going through a similar issue to Clint.

"I think Clint might have already had that down," Tony retorted. Steve shrugged. But Clint wasn't done growing. He just kept getting ripple after ripple that were starting to come so fast that they were being to look like seizures. Bruce frowned, beginning to get worried when Clint's body started thrashing around.

"Steve, come help me hold him down," Bruce said after the movements began to look so harsh that Clint might fall off the table. Steve nodded and shifted to the other side of the table to help hold down the archer. Natasha sighed. She really didn't want to watch any more of this. But her feet were basically glued to the ground. She was worried for her partner. Not that he'd likely remember being her partner.

"I think we might need to go out and get new clothes for him soon," Natasha groaned, the sudden thought crossing her mind even though it didn't really make sense considering the horrifying sight. Tony glanced at her. Bruce grunted and Steve shook his head.

"I'd want to bring him to the pediatrician first," Bruce muttered as the seizures began to slow. "We need to find out how old he is and if his stint as a five month old caused any long term issues we should be careful about."

"Of course, I was just saying," Natasha replied, wondering what Bruce was thinking. There was no way she'd risk Clint's health. She would never rush him around.

"Well, I think Pepper might have gotten some things around this size as a just in case when he first shrunk so he wouldn't be going naked, thank god," Tony mumbled. Bruce nodded, not concerned with that. Natasha nodded as well. She had noticed the large variety of sizes in Clint's closet. Almost as if the CEO had either predicted something like this happening or she hadn't been able to guess his size in the first place.

"Okay, his seizures are beginning to slow. Natasha, why don't you go get some clothes. I want to go get him checked out as soon as possible," Bruce stated. Natasha nodded, turning on her heel. Steve slowly let go of Clint. The archer had pretty much stopped moving now and was weakly groaning. Bruce also began to slowly let go. Tony held back, wanting to be of some sort of use but Bruce hadn't told him to do something in a long time.

"What now?" Steve questioned. Clint looked rather small still. Maybe three years old but could be older... Very malnourished and dehydrated. He was pale and shivering under the thin blanket that Bruce had used to cover him earlier. Tony and Steve were almost surprised that Clint was even alive. Bruce frowned at the boy.

"I want to get a height and weight on him before we bring him to the doc," Bruce muttered. It was very important. They needed that starting information so that they could get him back up to a healthy weight for his height and maybe even age. No matter what happened in his past... They were not going to use that as a reason to keep him like that now. Steve nodded.

"Barney?" Clint grumbled softly from his curled position. He sounded tired and meek. Tony, who had heard the name before, moved forward now. He figured out of anyone, Clint might recognize him the most. Especially considering that the genius had dealt with Clint the longest when the archer was six years old even though right now Clint didn't look to be that age. At the least, Tony wanted to have some sort of connection with Clint again. He missed being around the boy.

"No. Barney isn't here right now. But you are with friends, I promise," Tony soothed. Clint groaned and slowly uncurled and looked up. His eyes were unfocused as he took in the sight of Steve, Bruce and Tony looking down on him. For a moment, the trio was uncertain what was going to happen. Then Clint focused on Steve. His eye sight cleared enough for the boy to recognize the Captain.

"I know you. Captain America," he whispered. Steve smirked. As always, no matter what century he was in, he was usually always the first to be remembered. Beside him, Tony frowned but wisely didn't comment.

"Yeah. But you can call me Steve," the soldier said. Clint cleared his throat and nodded. He kind of remembered that that was the super soldier's name. It was from a comic that Barney had given him a couple months back. But he hadn't read the name. Barney had told him the words. But the large print on top was obvious to anyone and the large red, white and blue figure with blond hair and blue eyes. Captain America! Clint always made sure to memorize him as the boy always dreamed of one day growing up to being able to stand beside him. He knew he was never good enough to be Captain America. But he always prayed that he was good enough to be Bucky or a Howling Commando.

"Hey there. My name is Bruce. I'm a doctor. If you could do me a favor, I'd like you to get off the table and go stand on that scale over there so I can get your weight and height," Bruce suggested, gently taking command of the matter. As much as Bruce didn't want to rush this situation, he knew that they needed to get Clint to a pediatrician soon.

Clint frowned. He was tired and just wanted to sleep. Heck, he didn't even really know where he was at the moment. Everything felt strange, blurry and disorienting... But if Bruce was a doctor, a doctor knew what was right and what was wrong. If getting on the scale was the right thing to do, then Clint should do it. So, slowly he nodded and began to get up. Sadly, his muscles betrayed him and he flopped back onto the table. Steve and Bruce lunged forward to catch him before he fell on the floor. They barely made it and instead Clint's back hit the edge of the table.

"Ow," Clint moaned as he leaned against them. Steve winced and looked over at Bruce. The duo wondered if Clint couldn't stand because of his frail body of the most recent transformation. Tony frowned. That hadn't really happened when he turned six, but then again JARVIS had been down the night that he first changed. Who knew how long he actually slept the transformation off before getting up. And then when he had turned into a baby, he had been carried most of the time.

"Sorry. I guess your muscles are still not really used to being this size," Bruce muttered, more to himself then to Clint. Clint frowned and looked at the doc. The boy was so confused. What was going on?

"What do you mean? I'm about to turn 5 in a month," Clint groaned. Bruce raised an eyebrow in surprise. He hadn't expected that. Clint looked maybe no older than 3. Never mind almost turning 5.

"No, I mean.." Bruce tried to explain but stopped when Steve laid a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see what the soldier wanted. Steve was just shaking his head no. Bruce sighed. "Forget it."

"Where am I?" Clint asked. The men stiffened in surprise. "Last thing I knew I was at home..."

"You're in my home, in New York," Tony answered. Clint focused on him. The boy frowned.

"You look older than I remember..." Clint mumbled before shaking as head. Tony raised an eyebrow, itching to press the issue but knowing better. Bruce opened his mouth but stopped when Tony raised his hand to stop him. The genius shook his head. Last time Tony pressed Clint to remember things he shouldn't, it had hurt the boy. Tony wasn't going to allow it to happen again. "Wait, you are Tony Stark, right?"

"Yeah. Wait, I was already in the news when you were 4? Jeez," Tony grumbled. Clint frowned, unsure what the genius meant by that. Bruce and Steve shook their heads. "I think I'm gonna have to do a little personal research soon."

"You do that. In the meantime, Clint, do you think we can try sitting up again?" Bruce questioned. Clint nodded. This time when he sat up, his muscles worked fine. Natasha took this moment to walk in with the clothes. Seeing her, he froze and just stared. Of the amount of women he normally saw, Clint could actually pretty much count them on one hand. His mother, his teacher, his doctor's secretary (once), and that nice lady across the street.

"I grabbed a couple different sizes," Natasha stated. Seeing Clint sitting up, she smiled. "Hey."

"Hi," Clint said, unsurely to her. Steve and Tony he had known and Bruce had introduced himself but Natasha... Natasha was new. She frowned and looked to Tony. He mouthed six to her and she nodded.

"I'm Natasha. An old friend of the family," she claimed. Clint frowned. He had no reason to believe her but no proof not to believe her either. So for now, he just decided to watch her warily. Most women that he had met before had been nice so he had no reason not to think of her as evil, but something about her just screamed dangerous.

"Alright, can we try and get up onto your feet now?" Bruce asked, figuring it was best to just move on. Clint again nodded. Again, his muscles allowed it. Bruce smiled and slowly led the boy toward the scale, making sure to wrap the sheet around his waist. Clint easily followed and stepped up. Within a matter of minutes, Bruce had a weight and height. He turned to track the numbers. In doing so, he dropped the sheet. Clint took a moment to realize that he was naked. He turned beat red and turned to see that Tony, Steve and Natasha at least were decent enough to look away. The clothes that Natasha had brought were placed neatly on the table nearest the scale. Clint quickly grabbed them and dressed. Bruce barely noticed before turning back in time to see Clint come back around from the table, all dressed. "All right, time to go to the pediatrician."

"Wait, what? I thought you were a doctor!?"

* * *

**4783 words. Poor Clint. Now the age of a four year old boy. When will the torment end? Never, bwhahahahahaha. I lie... I end it soon, sadly. Anyways... I hope you all liked this chapter.**

**News on my husband. We are waiting on speaking to a surgeon on Thursday to get rid of his gall bladder. We have no idea if that will help, but it's the only part of his body acting weird. So, we wait.**

**Toddler Clint is doing well. Loves his daycare and about to celebrate his second birthday on Sunday. Still not really speaking but otherwise, things are fine.**

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**Review Responses:**

_Niom Lamboise _\- Of course I did it. They can't escape taking care of Clint. lol

_sammygirl1963_ \- I'm happy that you were able to picture what I was trying to say. A lot of what I write comes to me in almost like a movie form so I have to pause it in my head to get it written down right.

_amy. d .fuller .9 _\- I'm glad you are liking how things are working in the story. Especially that internet hasn't figured out a way to do scent descriptions of things, lol. I don't think anyone would be reading after these last few chapters is that happened. As for Clint wanting to be helpful, I see most kids trying to do that. They try to be helpful but either end up being in the way or end up making things worse, lol. As for Hill, I didn't want to make her evil but I also wanted to show that not all women are completely motherly. Some women can't be motherly to save their lives. Hill falls in that area. No matter what she does, she tends to mess up. Thanks for praying for our health, it means a lot to us all.


	26. Chapter 26

"Look, he has no memory of meeting you before. I don't even think he has any memory of being a S.H.I.E.L.D agent. All he is, is a four year old Clint who was suddenly displaced out of his life and placed into Stark Tower surrounded by Avengers. He's lost, slightly scared, confused and we want to make sure he is completely healthy. Please," Bruce told the S.H.I.E.L.D doctor. He had dealt with the man only once before when Clint had been getting his check-ups as a baby and honestly didn't even realize this was the same man. Jazuat was glad for that to some degree. When Natasha had seen him, she had gotten this deadly look on her face that he almost turned and ran.

The man looked over Clint again through the clear windows that separated the medical room from the hallway. Last time he had seen Clint, the little archer had been maybe a five month old boy dealing with issues of formula. Now he was a four year old kid. This was certainly getting far out of his pay-grade. And something that Jazuat wasn't sure that he wanted to get into. After messing up so many times with something as simple as a possible milk/formula allergy, Jazuat feared he couldn't be trusted with something like this.

"He seems to be a healthy kid outside of being slightly malnourished. But just feeding him some more food can help that," the doc pointed out, sounding like he didn't want to examine the boy. Bruce frowned. He easily figured that out on his own. What he needed was more information. Could Clint be suffering from any brain damage? Was he developmentally on time for his age? Was there anything they needed to watch out for considering what happened?

"Please. This is important. We need to make sure that his time as a five month old didn't mess anything up or the serum is changing him," Bruce pressed. The doctor sighed. Again he looked at Clint through the windows. The boy was looking back at him this time, before the other Avengers had been conversing with him. Now, Jazuat could see that Clint looked a little freaked out but calm enough with the remaining Avengers surrounding him. Slowly, the doc looked back to Bruce. Banner could see that the S.H.I.E.L.D doc was still hesitant but was beginning to fall.

"Fine, I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you," Bruce said, almost sounding like he was sobbing instead. Jazuat shook his head. He wasn't done speaking. Bruce frowned but didn't stop the doctor from continuing on. The doctor was looking out at Clint even as he spoke.

"But... I'll need to see him alone to get a good read on him."

"But-" Bruce started to protest. Jazuat spun around, raising his hand to stop Bruce from saying another word.

"Even though he seems to have lost all memories, unconsciously, something is telling him to trust you all. I need him off center to get a good read," the doctor admitted. Bruce bristled, glancing back at the others as he debated those words. For a moment, Jazuat feared that he pressed too far. But Bruce didn't argue. He stood there thinking about it all. Something was up with this whole idea but Bruce needed Jazuat's help. Was it worth the risks? Worth Clint possibly not trusting them after?

But the more that Bruce thought about it, the more he remembered his own time as a doctor. He had done the same thing a number of times with children in other countries. Many times when the parents were around, the child was too shy to talk to him but by getting them alone, the child was forced to answer. Almost as if they were forced to trust the only adult left in the room. Knowing that Jazuat was right and there was no other choice, Bruce nodded and turned to go retrieve Clint.

It took only a second to step outside. By that time, everyone had stood from their seats and pretty much gathered around, ready to step into the room where Dr. Jazuat waited. Bruce shook his head, wondering if the others would agree with his decision. Slowly, he looked over Clint and then the others. They seemed confused but ready to hear what he had to say. As much as it pained him, Bruce knew that they trusted his word over anyone.

"Actually, he wants just Clint," Bruce told them. Tony frowned, wondering how in the world that was going to be okay with anyone. Steve shook his head and patted Clint's shoulder as he backed away with a deep sigh. But Bruce could tell that the solider didn't like this idea in the least. Natasha snarled, not really wanting to leave Clint alone with the S.H.I.E.L.D doc (after the formula debacle, Natasha started not trusting him) but was forced to trust Bruce and his word that it was going to be alright. Nodding, Clint moved forward and slipped by the Bruce. It took him a few extra seconds for him to realize that the doc wasn't following behind him. The archer turned back to look at him.

"Bruce?" Clint questioned meekly in the doorway. Jazuat stood behind the boy, placing something down on a waiting tray by the bed. One could only hope that it was something like a vaccination that Clint would need or something. Bruce shook his head at the boy and kneeled down to Clint's level. Since turning four, Clint had latched himself well onto Bruce and Steve's side. It was a nice feeling but Bruce understood that this was important and needed Clint to know that they weren't abandoning him.

"No, just you. We'll be waiting out here for you. It won't be long. I promise," Bruce told him. Clint shuddered, feeling like something was about to go wrong, but nodded. He really didn't want to see this man all by himself but at least the boy would be able to see them through the windows. Slowly, he headed deeper into the room. Bruce smiled lightly and got back up before stepping back and closing the door. Before closing it fully, Bruce looked at them both. "We'll be waiting right here."

"Thanks," Clint whispered, turning back in time to see Bruce close the door. Bruce smiled once as Tony sat down in a far chair. Steve waved and Natasha grabbed another chair to move it closer to the door. As she placed it down, the windows shift to opaque, blocking any more view of the others. Clint's eyes widened as a lock engaged with a click. Not knowing if this was normal or not, Clint looked around in shock.

"Finally," the doctor called behind him. Clint spun around in horror and surprise. His fear of doctors skyrocketing as he stared at Jazuat, mentally praying that Steve would try and break down the door. Sadly, nothing happened. Almost as if the others couldn't tell that something horrible was happening behind the now locked door. Clint briefly wondered if they even knew that they door was locked.

"I want to see them!" Clint screeched, completely unaware that S.H.I.E.L.D had built the medical wing to have soundproof walls. Many times agents came back and either had horrible nightmares or were in such pain that their screams echoed down the hall. After a while, someone finally came up with the idea of soundproofing the walls so that even if an agent was screaming bloody murder, the others in the wing could still sleep. No one heard him.

Jazuat laughed at the boy and shook his head as he moved away from the wall. Clint noted a panel with a number of buttons and dials. One of them had to control something; either the door or the windows... Something to be able to alert the others of what was going on in this room. Clint shifted closer to it, noticing Jazuat didn't seem to care. If he could get over to that panel before Jazuat did anything to him then it would be okay.

"Boy, you don't get it. You ain't going to see them ever again" Jazuat said. Clint grimaced and backed away a step as the doc spun around to see the boy inching closer to the panel. Jazuat's eyes narrowed but he didn't seem too concerned. The doc knew the Avengers weren't concerned with this. They trusted him to be a healer. But they didn't know everything. Clint was tempted to turn around and alert the others by banging on the door but... Who know if they would believe him over the doctor? Before he could think more on it, Jazuat grabbed something off of a silver metal tray table he had been preparing before.

"What do you even want with me?" Clint whined, feeling more lost than he had since waking up only a few hours before. The doctor smiled, an evil sickly looking image that made the little archer shudder. Technically, Jazuat didn't want anything to do with the boy, but his bosses... That was another story. Clint backed away as the doctor turned to face him, tucking the item he grabbed behind him. The archer was quickly backing himself into a corner. "Please! I don't know anything! I'm just a boy from the country!"

"Oh, I know. And that's why this is the perfect time for this to happen," Jazuat explained as if that made any sense. Clint hit the corner with a thud as Jazuat shifted the item around to show what it was. The boy was stunned to recognize it as a needle filled with an unknown liquid. But it was something that Clint was certain wouldn't be good to have injected into his system. He shifted down into his corner to get away.

"They'll know it was you," Clint cried as if it made a difference. Jazuat laughed and leaned in close to Clint. The archer tried to lash out but Jazuat, trained to handle trained agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, was faster and backed away in time.

"I'll let you in on a little secret. I was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Given only four more months to live. That serum inside you just extended that," Jazuat told the boy. Clint winced as if the doc had slapped him across the face. Tears began leaking out. He had no idea what this man was saying. 'Serum? What serum?' But Clint needed to try and stop this guy. So, Clint decided to try what his brother would always try...

"I'm sure they would be willing to give you some! I bet that they have a ton of it left over! Just go and ask them! They seem friendly enough," Clint lied. He hadn't been around enough to know if any of it was true. Nor did he know what he was really saying. But he hoped that the doctor didn't know much more than he did. Then again... Considering Jazuat quickly began hysterically laughing, Clint assumed not.

"Bruce tested that serum on only _his _blood. His _gamma_ irradiated blood! We needed it tested on someone normal. Someone... Human," Jazuat responded before looking Clint over. Clint followed the expression before his eyes widened. He was the test subject? Was that the only reason why the others were so nice to him? They were checking him? Finding out how the serum worked on him? Did they even care?

Knowing the boy was distracted, Jazuat lunged forward. Clint, feeling the shift in the air and having experience with his father, dodged but didn't get far as he felt the needle pierce his skin. The doc cried out in triumph as he pressed the plunger to release the contents. Clint screeched, falling and stumbling as he tried to get away. Whatever was in the needle, it was fast acting... Within seconds, the boy was tired, dizzy and the room was staring to spin... He stumbled along, trying to find somewhere to hide even as he drifted into oblivion.

"Did... Did you do this? To me?" Clint growled. Jazuat laughed, leaning on the wall for support as he got up from his attack. Clint stumbled to the ground, trying to fight off whatever the doc gave him. Jazuat shook his head with a smile, moving in on his quickly slipping target. Clint glanced once again toward the door, wondering if any of the Avengers would even care what was happening. Would they just move onto another test subject? Would they forget about him?

"No... No, I wish. Just happened to be the most perfect timing."

* * *

"This is taking a while," Tony muttered after over two hours of waiting. He was sitting opposite of the doorway, fiddling on his phone. JARVIS, who was still in S.H.I.E.L.D systems, was quickly tracking through cameras to try and find the room that Clint was currently in. The AI hadn't been watching them before as it hadn't been important, but now... Now, the AI was certain that he was going to track the coming and goings of every Avenger in every S.H.I.E.L.D base, outpost and so forth from this point on. He was never going to lose track of them again. It was getting to a point that JARVIS was ready to demand tracking implants on each of them or maybe even in each and every bone... Yeah, that sounded good... Each bone... Something like that so that if Natasha or Clint ever got taken again it wouldn't be an easy removal of one implant... But that's another story. (And I'm getting lost in JARVIS's POV...)

"Maybe Clint is giving the doc a hard time," Natasha suggested, sitting next to the door as if she was guarding it. Tony frowned but shrugged. It was possible. Clint was a little iffy at times when he was six. But that was when he was frightened of orphanages and abandonment. At age 4, he'd believe his parents were alive and waiting for him. Who'd know how he'd act around doctors now. Actually, Clint never really admitted at what age he began not trusting doctors. No one would be surprised if it was around this age.

"He seemed fine around me," Bruce mentioned, forgetting that Clint seemed to innately trust them all. Tony shrugged again, distracted by his phone and the data that JARVIS kept throwing at him. Apparently the AI wanted to design something like tracers that dissolved into the blood stream or something weird like that. Distracted with the possible theories, Tony tried to force not only his mind but also his AI back on track. Natasha snorted.

"We were all there though. This doctor is alone," Steve added, reminding them all how Clint could be when they handled him alone. If Clint was with two or more people, he was usually on good behavior. But normally once alone with a person, depending on the person, Clint became a little terror.

"Hey, he wanted it this way," Natasha countered. Steve nodded, still not liking it. Bruce sighed deeply and glanced over at Tony who was tapping rather harshly on his phone and beginning to hiss rather darkly at the device. Natasha raised an eyebrow and glanced over at the genius as Bruce shifted seats to see what Tony was doing. "What is going on over there?"

"Nothing? Just JARVIS acting up," Tony grumbled. Bruce chuckled at a couple of the algorithms that passed over the screen. Tony groaned. "Apparently he thinks we should make tracers that go into our blood streams that are gamma proof, super solider serum proof, god-like proof and enemy spy proof because we Avengers get kidnapped too much for JARVIS's liking."

Steve snorted and looked away from Tony. The idea of some sort of tracer hiding in his blood steam was horrifying but JARVIS did have a point. They did get kidnapped a lot. Bruce smiled and leaned back in his seat, glad that that's all that Tony had been cursing about. He knew that when they got back to the Tower that they would be working on the theories. As much as JARVIS thought this was important, it could endanger them as well. Natasha chuckled and rolled her eyes. For a moment she had thought that Tony had done something stupid but hearing this, all she wanted to do was laugh. She honestly shouldn't have been worried but something was beginning to bug her. Something was wrong and it was starting to put her on edge.

"Well, if that's all," she said, mentally beginning to focus on what was bugging her. Tony grunted and went back to the phone to try and tame the now wild AI. As much as JARVIS's idea was tempting, Tony was still focused on getting an eye line on Clint. The group ended up like that for another few minutes before growing bored again.

"You know, it's been a few months now... Has anyone heard from Thor?" Steve wondered, leaning forward in his seat. Tony shook his head no, still mostly distracted by his phone and JARVIS. Bruce shook his head no. Natasha frowned and also shook her head no. No one really thought about Thor having been missing. They had all been so distracted with Clint and his issue with serum that no one really thought about it.

"I have S.H.I.E.L.D monitoring his friend, Jane Foster. From what I know, she hasn't heard from him either... Do you think something might be wrong?" Natasha asked, reaching into her pocket to get her own phone to check for any updates. Maybe that was what was wrong? Steve sighed and shook his head. It wasn't surprising to not hear from Thor for a while but Heimdall normally informed Thor if something happened to the other Avengers... And this was definitely something. Was Thor is some sort of trouble as well? "Steve?"

"I don't know," Steve exclaimed, sounding more confused and angered than anything. He shook his head before standing and beginning to pace. Bruce and Natasha watched him in his sudden 'frantic' movements. This was a common thing that the super solider had started to do; when Steve panicked, or got stressed, he moved. He needed to move as if moving gave him the answer he so desired or if someone got so annoyed with him, they finally gave him the answer he needed. "There could be... There could be a million things... The bridge could be broken... Loki could have escaped. A war could have started. His father could have died. One of his friends could have died. He could be stuck on a quest or a mission. Who knows? He may need us. I just... I don't know."

"Are you worried that he may be worse off than us?" Bruce tried; worry leaking into his own words. He glanced over at Natasha as she typed away on her own phone trying to get an answer from it. She acted as if the phone would magically connect to Asgard and tell her all the happenings of the other world. Steve sighed and looked to the doctor before nodding and sitting back down into his seat. He placed his elbows on his knees and dropped his head into his hands. Bruce frowned and glanced at Natasha for support. As she wasn't getting any answers from the device, she gave up and focused on Bruce. Seeing the distressed captain, Natasha shifted chairs to sit beside Steve even as she put her phone away.

"There's nothing we can do about it here. Besides, I'm sure that Heimdall would have done something to call us. We know that more than just Thor can be sent down here. I'm certain that Heimdall would have sent a messenger down to get us if Thor needed our help," Natasha soothed. Steve nodded, thinking on what she had told him. But it was still bothering him. Something was wrong and he was seriously thinking that it had to do with Thor. Slowly, he looked up at her. Right away, Natasha could tell that he was still bothered. Not that she minded, she was still bothered too.

"But then why hasn't he shown up?" Steve wondered. Natasha bit her lip. She had no answer for that one. But luckily she didn't need to come up with one as Tony took that moment to jump to his feet. His phone clattered to the floor as he stared at the door to the room before them in shock. Something he had seen on the phone made him horrified.

"Tony?" Bruce wondered, glancing down toward the phone to try and see what the genius had seen. The phone quickly went dark before the others could look at it. Tony didn't speak as he suddenly rushed toward the door and started to try to open it. It was still locked (not that they had checked that when Clint first entered). He began pounding on it, almost as if the Avengers were the ones trapped in the room and trying to get out. Seeing that the door wasn't going to open, Tony shifted to the window.

"OPEN UP!" Tony screamed, pounding on the glass. Steve, Natasha and Bruce jumped to their feet, horrified at the genius's sudden reaction. They had never seen him react like this. So this time, they knew it was serious. Something was really wrong. Steve cautiously moved toward the genius as if to pull him away. Bruce backed down the hall, moving to intercept people that might come down to see what the racket was about. Natasha stayed frozen in front of her seat, wondering if she should check Tony's phone again to try and see what he saw. "OPEN UP!" Tony continued on, undeterred.

"Tony!" Steve shouted, moving to stop the billionaire as a couple of agents and other employees began to turn and look down the hall to see what was going on. Tony ignored the captain and continued banging on the glass. Steve frowned and stepped forward, straining to get into more or his 'Captain' mode. A mode that Tony normally didn't respond too, but Steve couldn't think of anything else. "Tony!"

Tony stiffened at the tone and turned to look at Steve in full on 'Captain' mode. Normally, Tony would laugh at Steve but right now Tony looked at Steve as if the man was a miracle. And then the genius slowly looked at the door before looking back at Steve. As the billionaire was doing this, Bruce, Natasha and Steve noticed tears that were forming in the genius's horrified eyes. Something had petrified Tony into crying, something he had seen on his phone. But what could it have been? Before they could really think about it, Tony rushed over to Steve, sliding on the tile to get over to the super solider faster. Steve jerked back in shock.

"Steve! Oh my god! Steve! Break the glass! Please... God! Break the fucking glass! Get me into that room!" Tony begged. He actually begged. Steve, shocked at hearing the genius beg, didn't move. He just stood there as Tony began to hang off of his shirt. They all just stood there as Tony continued to beg, his words slowly beginning to morph into slurs as he started to sob and then whine. "Steeevvveeeeeeeee!"

"Fine," Steve said, gently prying Tony off of his shirt. If it would get Tony to stop whining like this and causing a scene, Steve would break down the glass. Hell, he'd break down the door. Tony let go without hesitation and dropped heavily to the floor, watching the soldier with a desperate gaze. Frowning, Steve walked over to the door. He glanced at Bruce and Natasha to see if he should actually follow Tony's begging demand and when Natasha nodded, the super soldier turned and punched it.

Bruce, Natasha and Steve all expected to hear some sound of protest from inside. They fully expected a shocked S.H.I.E.L.D doctor and a stunned, surprised four year Clint. The trio was even prepared to possibly see Clint naked because of some sort of examine that Dr. Jazuat needed to conduct. But that wasn't what they saw. They instead finally got to see the thing that had railed Tony up so badly. What had petrified him and made the genius cause this huge scene.

The room was empty.

* * *

**4065 words... Aw, poor Tony. Poor Clint... Poor everyone. I just can't leave them alone, lol.**

**So, we are still waiting on the date for the gallbladder surgery. Thankfully it will be an in and out procedure. No overnight hospital stays or anything. But we still have no idea if it will clear up his illness. In fact the surgeon mentioned that if the gallbladder is removed and he is still sick then he might have nerve issues and no doctor in the world can fix that. He'll have to be ill the rest of his life. (grr). But we'll see.**

**Toddler Clint is doing fine. Just celebrated his second birthday and he had fun. Sadly now both he and I are suffering from some sort of cold that no medication seems to be working on. In fact, I've been getting so bad that I almost passed out at work during a coughing fit. Poor Toddler Clint has been getting up in the middle of the night just to cough. He's so tired that he isn't waking up on time in the morning. But, he doesn't seem to be suffering as much as I am, thank god. Still, he's a happy carefree baby.**

**Anyway, Review Response:**

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**Review Responses:**

_Niom Lamboise _\- Glad you keep enjoying this.

_sammygirl1963_ \- I wish Clint could have stayed a baby as well but I was running out of steam. And I needed something to do. Didn't want anyone getting to complacent with him as a babe. Thanks for the prayers. We hope the surgery works as well.

_amy. d .fuller .9 _\- All I can picture now is you having cereal or something and milk coming out of your nose... Probably didn't happen that way but that's all I can picture. As for the puzzles, the serum was mentioned as unstable. Anything could happen. Heck, I may throw you all for a loop and age him past what he was supposed to be. Anyways, thanks for the prayers and we hope the gallbladder is the main reason why he has been sick this whole time.

_Bookdancer_ \- I'm glad that you love the story. It means so much to hear the praise from readers. I hope you continue to enjoy the rest of the story.

_MO-5431 _\- Thanks.

_Alibird1_ \- Tee hee... I just love causing all these feels. Thanks for the thoughts on my husband and son.


	27. Chapter 27

Clint woke up sometime later. It could have been hours, it could have been days. There was no way for the four year old to tell. The room he had woken in didn't have any windows to tell whether it was day or night, not that he had opened his eyes yet. And he couldn't really sense how much time had passed him by. Something that his older body had been trained to notice.

All Clint could tell was details about his body. He was groggy from the drugs. Something that (had he been older) he would have known would happen and been able to judge how long he'd been drugged for. He was even a bit dizzy and disoriented, most likely from being drugged for too long or fast movements while unconscious. But worst of all he was in a lot of pain. His whole body ached as if he had been tossed around and beaten and was just now beginning to heal from it all. It was nothing compared to the aches he had felt when he had first awoken to the company of Bruce, Tony and Steve. The sudden thoughts of the three men made Clint waken even more and snap to attention.

"AH!" Clint cried in pain as he sat up, tweaking his stomach muscles in his haste. Groaning, Clint looked around. He was in a room with the bare minimums in it. A bed (that he was currently sitting on), with a thin blanket (now bundled onto his lap), a small chair placed off into a corner with a thin rickety table placed before it and a mirror. On the other side of the room from the bed were two doors. One door was opened and looked to lead into a small bathroom with a walk-in shower (no curtain or doors), an old toilet and a moldy looking sink.

Clint shuddered as a chill ran up his back. Looking down, he realized he was still in the clothes that Natasha had gotten for him before the group had brought him to 'S.H.I.E.L.D' to meet Dr. Jazuat. He wasn't even sure that man was a doctor anymore. But if he was, why did the others trust him when he was so apparently evil? Clint shifted in the bed to lean his back against the wall and sit up better in the bed. It also gave him full view of every point in the room and better protection, unconsciously; he knew that was the safest spot in the whole room.

Footsteps sounded outside. Clint tensed but he knew better than to call out. Calling out drew attention to himself. Drawing attention to himself wasn't always the best choice. Who know who was out there, waiting for him to speak. They could be mad. They could want to beat him. They could want to hurt him. No, Clint knew to stay silent when he heard footsteps. If they really wanted to find him, they'd call out to him. Their voice would sound a certain way if they meant no harm. Clint knew that. He had learned that very fast in his four years, soon to be going on five years. As much as his father always said so, Clint wasn't a stupid boy. No, he was very smart and he was a fast learner.

The footsteps drew closer and closer until they were right outside the door. Clint stayed completely still. He couldn't risk making a sound that the person outside could hear. The boy ended up being so tense that by the time the knock on the door sounded, his muscle spasms nearly could have broken every bone in his body. Thankfully they didn't break and all he suffered was more muscle pains and aches. His jumping at the sound didn't make a noise. Not even a shifting of the sheets made a sound. Hell, he barely breathed as he waited.

"Hello?" a voice called from outside the room. It was a woman's voice. Clint didn't reply. They could be looking for anyone. And if they found him, they might get mad that it was him and not who they were searching for. Her voice didn't sound right either. She sounded bad… Clint felt a shudder run through his body and he fought to not make any sound. "Hello, Clint? Clint, my name is Lisa. Lisa Cooper. You might not remember me; Dr. Jazuat says you might not either. That's okay. I'm fine with that. I... I just want to talk. Can I talk with you?"

Clint didn't move. He didn't reply. There was no memory of a Lisa Cooper. Nor did he trust her voice. It was nothing like when he woke up with the others. Though he had no memory of them either, he trusted them. Bruce, though that one was hard because he was a doctor, he had a trustworthy voice. Clint wanted to believe in him and Bruce just wanted to check on his health. No danger there. Steve... Steve was Captain America. A famous figure head of all things good and righteous, how could one not trust in that? Then there was Tony Stark; another famous man that Clint knew a little about. Not very trustworthy there but Tony hadn't really asked him to do much of anything. Heck, he was just kind-of there. Same for Natasha. All she did was bring clothes and claimed to be some kind of family friend. He didn't have to trust them to deal with them.

Then again, how could talking be dangerous? She sounded okay. Didn't sound angry, or dangerous. Just untrustworthy. There was something about her that was lying. Well, it also didn't help her case that the one familiar name she mentioned was the name of the man that kidnapped him. The same man that attacked him and was supposed to be a healer. Clint shifted slightly on the bed. Not enough for anyone to notice but enough for him to feel a bit safer in his positioning.

"Clint, I know you can hear me. Can you talk to me?" Lisa asked once again. Still, Clint didn't respond but this time it didn't seem to matter. The room echoed with the click of a lock disengaging. Its sound making Clint tense and glance around quickly to see if he could hide. His hands wrung themselves into the blanket as a comfort effort that wasn't as comforting as Clint hoped it would be. The door opened a few seconds later to reveal a woman with calm brown eyes and medium length chocolate brown hair. She wore a simple white tee shirt, jeans and sneakers. Her eyes focused quickly on Clint and he wished he had taken a moment to hide under the bed. "Hello, Clint. Do you remember me?"

Clint made no reaction to her. He basically just sat there, frozen in place. Seemingly fearful of moving. Almost like Lisa was a t-rex and that if he moved, she would see him and attack. Lisa waited a moment to give the boy a chance to respond but the longer she waited, the harder it was for her to hold back a frown that was beginning to form. She was trying so hard not to be bothered by the non-reaction from the boy but she needed something from him. Some sort of reaction but all Clint did was just stare at her.

Shaking her head, Lisa stepped further into the room and gently closed the door behind her. Clint didn't budge. Heaving a sigh, Lisa went over to the chair, pulled it out and sat down. For a long while the two just sat there like that. Staring at each other, waiting for the other to speak. Clint knew she would be the first to break. He had tons of practice with this. With his brother, his mother and even his father. All he had to do was wait for Lisa to snap first. He didn't have to wait long. Half an hour went by like this before Lisa sighed.

"Dr. Jazuat told me that you need help. But he wasn't very specific on the type of help you need. Maybe you could tell me?" Lisa suggested, trying to get any type of clue from Clint. The boy said nothing. Didn't twitch. Nothing. Hell, Lisa wasn't even sure he blinked. She moved to sit up more in the chair. Oh, how she was sick of this. Jazuat claimed that the boy had no memory of being a S.H.I.E.L.D agent but right now, Lisa wasn't so sure if she believed him. Right now, this was the exact type of reaction a trained agent would give. Lisa bristled. She never really had to deal with 'torture' of a prisoner. Hell, she never interrogated someone before. And right now, she just wanted to beat the boy till he spoke. But after considering the consequences, Lisa didn't. "Clint, I need something from you here. We can't help if you don't tell us anything."

Clint stared at her as if she'd disappear the longer he watched. Lisa sighed deeply. Okay, talking wasn't going to work. So, she tried silent again. They sat there staring again for another ten minutes. Every few minutes or so, Lisa would check a watch on her wrist. Clint would never move more than his eyelids. After ten minutes, Lisa stood from the chair and replaced it back at the table. Slowly, she began pacing the room. Clint only moved his eyes to watch her. Ten more minutes passed in this fashion.

The boy could tell that all this was getting to the woman. If he was willing to risk a beating, Clint would have allowed a smirk to appear on his face. It was amusing how much anger was racing through Lisa's body. She was so pissed that Clint wasn't responding to her. He had no idea why she wanted him to talk to her or even what she wanted him to tell her. Really, he had nothing to say. She was giving him a lot more information about his current situation then he knew about before. And she hadn't even said really anything all that important but enough to connect pieces.

So far he learned that Jazuat had taken him from the others because they had no idea why he was a kid. In fact, no one really knew how to change him back from being a little kid anymore. Apparently he wasn't supposed to be this current age anymore. His memories of right now are old. They aren't sure what he remembers or even if he remembers anything at all. So, he could possibly trick them into knowing more than he actually does, depending on if they knew him or not. Jazuat believed that Lisa knew more about what happened to him than the others. But what she wanted to do with that knowledge was unknown.

"OH MY GOD! JUST TALK TO ME!" Lisa screamed at Clint with such ferocity that he flinched, his current train of thought derailing. Lisa furrowed her brow and backed away. She hadn't expected that from a trained agent. Maybe Jazuat was right and he didn't remember that part of his life but there was something about his life at age four that Clint was currently remembering that was making him not trusting of help. Rather abruptly, she turned and left the room. Clint didn't move until she was gone. Once the door was closed, he rushed it and grasped the handle just as he heard the echo of the lock click into place.

"Shit," he cursed, using a word he had heard his father use many times whenever the old man missed throwing an empty beer can or bottle toward Barney's or his head. Clint kicked at the door, softly enough that it would make a sound but hard enough that it caused a spike of pain in his toes. Groaning, Clint backed away from the door before he could do something stupid and alert someone that he was trying to escape. Slowly, he backed through the room until the back of his knees bumped into the edge of his bed. He dropped down onto the thin mattress and waited. Lisa would be back. He knew her type. She wouldn't stay away for long. And he also knew that she wouldn't stay verbal for very long. She's get physical quickly.

For a moment, Clint flashed back to his short time with Bruce, Steve, Tony and Natasha. Would they miss him? Would they be willing to come get him or would they leave him? Was he someone important to them? He had no answer for any of these questions. All he knew was that for now, he was on his own. And while on his own, he'd have to do as much as he could to stay alive. That meant being silent no matter what happened. They couldn't be worse than his father, could they?

* * *

Lisa just wished she could slam the door to Clint's room close. But that would just give him an edge over her own feelings. And that seriously couldn't happen right now. She was too close to getting what she needed. Too close to getting everything she ever wanted. All that stood in her way right now was that stupid boy. And if he wasn't trained to withstand torture techniques anymore, then damn-it-all, that's what she'd use. She was going to use everything. Lisa had no qualms against damaging Clint Barton. One less S.H.I.E.L.D agent for her to deal with if the serum ever stopped working or if they somehow slipped through the cracks of her plan.

Holding back a scream of outrage, Lisa walked off down the hall. Once she was certain that Clint wouldn't hear her, she let loose. Her cry brought forth a group of men and women. Some of the very ones that Lisa knew were on guard specifically for Agent... No, Clint's special case. She focused on one of them with an angered glare. There was no way she could waste another moment. She had already spent too much time in Clint's room, trying to get that brat to say even a damned word.

"Get me Jenson Jazuat," Lisa demanded. The guard nodded to the scientist before spinning on their heel and rushing off. Knowing her order would be followed and quickly, Lisa headed off to her office in a different direction. It was only a small room down the hall. The other guards would inform Jazuat of such location once he arrived. Unbeknownst to her, some of the guards followed, almost as if they expected her to give them some more orders. The rest split off to return to their duties (including the group that had been watching over Clint's room).

Her office hadn't actually started out here. It had only recently been moved here. Actually, only an hour after Clint was brought into his room was her office switched over to this room. It was imperative that Lisa stayed close to the boy as she was the only one who knew the most about the serum that ran through his system. Hell, Lisa was actually the main scientist that got Bruce Banner onto the idea of reversing his DNA. It was her research into the idea and theory of reversing genetics back to a point of origin that got Banner into creating the serum that reverted Clint into the four year old that she was so angered with right now.

If only she had the technology that Banner had, if she had been allowed to work with Stark, to work with the AI, to have unlimited funding, to work in that dream lab. She wouldn't have done the limited testing that Banner did. To have all that and just test this miraculous serum on just Hulk's blood? It was unthinkable. How she half wished they could have kept Bruce rather than let him go. But she understood the risk of having the Avengers already looking for him. They had been potentially close to finding the doctor. To be truthful, Lisa was glad that they traded Bruce Banner for Clint Barton. The boy would give her more information than Bruce.

"Did he tell you anything?" someone questioned, the others seemingly just as curious. Most of the men and women still left working with Lisa wanted to see her succeed. They each had someone who was suffering and needed the serum in order to help. That was why they stayed. But that also made them curious. Sometimes too curious for their own good.

Lisa snarled and slammed her office door closed in their faces without an answer. Storming to her desk, Lisa forcefully sat down in her chair making the poor item squeal in protest at her weight. The desk before her was littered with papers and notes that the group had stolen from Banner during the brief time they held him. In the entire time, they thankfully didn't have to once even speak to the man. Bruce had been so trusting that he had brought his notes to the convention. When they kidnapped him, they stole his hotel keys, entered his room, collected his work and left. Lisa was intelligent enough to understand all his tests. Too bad none of it had been done on normal blood.

"FUCK!" the woman screeched, sliding her hands across the desk to toss the papers to the floor. Everything scattered. Lisa barely noticed as she dropped her head into her hands in frustration and entangled her bangs in her fingers. She was tempted to get up and toss something else next but there wasn't much left. Her office hadn't been fully moved over. The entire facility was still being moved. Actually, Clint's sedative had only worn off after two hours after arrival. Just long enough for Lisa to settle her desk and the papers she had just tossed. Not that she needed much else but, the rest of her own research could help. Banner's request list from when he stayed with them... And a few others things would be helpful. Not that it hindered her while she didn't have them.

"I take it your little talk didn't go well," Jazuat's voice called as the papers began to settle all around the room. Lisa looked up to see the doctor's amused face as he caught a sheet and glance it over. For a moment, she wondered if he'd know what it was but when his face took on a confused expression before dropping it, she grinned. It made her feel good to know that someone couldn't understand the work she did. Sometimes being a part of AIM, a large group of scientists, got a bit worry some. As if, there was always someone out there who could easily replace you. "I told you he knew nothing."

"I couldn't even tell you if that brat knows how to speak," Lisa hissed, getting to her feet, the pleasure she felt just seconds before disappearing under a haze of anger. Jazuat raised an eyebrow in surprise. The boy spoke rather clearly for a four year old while in his presence. In fact, Clint seemed rather willing in speak. Lisa shook her head. "How the fuck is that supposed to help me? We released Banner for... For that!?"

"Technically, when you released Banner, Agent Barton was around six years old. Then the serum turned him into a baby and when you contacted me to kidnap him, he re-aged. From what I heard, when he first turned six, he remembered everything. But slowly, he began to revert to that age. When he became a baby, he had all his memories returned and was only limited by his developmental age and muscles. Once he grew to age four, he immediately lost all memory," Jazuat explained. Lisa sighed and sat back down. The doctor entered the office and softly closed the door so no one could listen in. He frowned, wondering why he was getting blamed for AIM releasing Banner far too early. They could have kept him, risking the Avengers finding them all. Using both Banner and Barton, maybe AIM would have a chance.

"Memory loss. Instability... Possible death... Damn. I don't know how I'm gonna fix this all," Lisa cursed to herself. She had worked so hard to create this serum and now, seeing a variation of the final product, she didn't know what to do. Jazuat shifted over the papers, making a crinkling sound as he walked. Lisa looked up at him. She really shouldn't be talking to him about any of this but what the hell. He was here and no one else in the group was really willing to risk helping her much more. They all were too afraid to risk the wrath of the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. Hell, once she involved Banner, most of AIM left her. "Who the hell would be willing to risk talking this?"

"Four months of pain and slow death? Or the possibility of turning young again and reliving life? I'd take it," Jazuat said, sounding pleased at the offer. Lisa snorted. She wasn't even going to risk telling the doctor that she wasn't going to be ready for testing until months after the cancer had already killed him. He'd be long dead before this serum would ever be able to help save his life. But, she still needed his help. Maybe even for the entire time that he was dying. So, she had to convince him that he couldn't take the serum until she stabilized it.

"What if it aged you to a point that your whole body was basically one big cancer cell? What if this serum aged your cancer cells up by a million years to the point that it became as contagious as the common cold?" Lisa countered, glaring at the doctor as if he should have thought of these things before volunteering. Jazuat paled, imagining himself becoming a solid form of cancer. Or even taking the serum and aging to a month past his death date. While it would be nice to not suffer, he'd still die. Lisa sighed, feeling almost bad for scaring the poor man half to death. "I will give you the serum. But I won't test it on you."

"Well, when you put it that way, I get why," Jazuat tried to joke but Lisa could clearly tell that she had frazzled him. He was still pale and was starting to shake. She rolled her eyes slightly. Jazuat shook his head as if to clear some nasty images from his mind. "Is there anything I can do?"

"Make sure the Avengers don't find us. I'm going to need live samples from that boy. Consistent live samples," Lisa stated in such a way that it sounded evil. She was half tempted to do a dark laugh but held back. But then a thought passed her mind. Jazuat was a S.H.I.E.L.D agent, even though he was currently helping her. He was still technically an enemy. And now that he learned that she may not be able to help him, she had to be more careful. She couldn't keep pushing him and tempting him with the evil. Jazuat frowned, his mentality from S.H.I.E.L.D beginning to override his wish to stay alive.

"Are you going to damage him?" Lisa focused on the man. She forgot that he was technically a doctor. Really a S.H.I.E.L.D doctor. Her eyes narrowed and he held up his hands. "Hey, Agent Barton was always a pain in my ass and deserves to die after Manhattan. I don't care. I was... Was just curious."

"He may die. He may not. The longer he lives the better. Will his body be the same after we are done?" Lisa asked as an evil smile graced her lips. Jazuat shifted uncomfortably. He knew that by agreeing to work with A.I.M, he'd be doing bad work but... The possibility of having a S.H.I.E.L.D agent die because of him was a little unnerving. He honestly didn't care about Agent Barton but... Remembering the pain in the ass agent as the same four year old boy that Lisa had trapped in a different room was getting harder. "Doubtful."

* * *

**OMG, I am sooooo sorry for the late update! On Saturday we had Stanley Steamer come to our house to clean our living room. So that meant Friday was taking everything out of the living room and moving it into the kitchen. By the time I realized Friday had passed it was Saturday and the group came early. I couldn't stay in the house for very long while they worked and long after they left as I am allergic to most scents and cleaners and the room was still drying. We didn't get to come back into the house until past Toddler Clint's bedtime. Then Sunday, my husband and father-in-law decided they wanted to move everything from upstairs downstairs so that next week we can move the master bedroom from the smallest room of the house into the master suite we built upstairs. Hopefully I won't be late again... Can't promise as one of the things moving is the computer and desk...**

**Any ways, 4052 words this chapter. I don't think there is as many feels in this chapter but who knows. I've been wrong before, lol.**

**As for the family health. My husband is scheduled for surgery the day before Halloween and the surgeon doesn't think his gallbladder is the issue. But we won't know until afterwards. Toddler Clint's cold has gotten worse due to the fact that we accidentally forgot to give him his allergy meds for a few days. But he's back on them now and he seems to be coughing less. As for me, my cold is still around. Not as bad as before but not really gone.**

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**Review Responses:**

_Niom Lamboise _\- Bwhahahahaha. I love reading reviews like this when I totally know what is going to happen.

_sammygirl1963_ \- I'm so sorry. I made you wait over a week on this one. And such a tough ending! I had so much fun making Tony whine and beg like that. I felt it was so important because of the fact that he had been with young Clint the longest and already felt extremely protective. Then to have this happen.

_amy. d .fuller .9 _\- Wow, so many questions... And not a single one I can answer right now, lol. I promise that I don't age him over what he is supposed to be. I almost wish I did but then things would get real complicated. Thanks for keeping my family in your prayers. It means a lot.

_toshirolovehim _ \- Thanks for the compliment. It's a great feeling to see these types of reviews.

_MO-5431 _\- Thanks for the words on the chapter and the words on me. Glad you are looking forward to more chapters. Can't wait till everyone reads them.

_Alibird1_ \- The feels were awesome this chapter, weren't they? Glad you like the story. As for the family, all we are waiting on is time and upcoming appointments. Thanks for your thoughts.

_AgentR084_ \- Tee hee, I'm so mean aren't I. Never mind the fact that it ended like it did and now I'm late in posting. Oh well. Hope you continue to enjoy.

_m klindt _\- Yeah, this whole bit was thrown in on a whim. I hope everyone enjoys it.

_Chocolatelover2001 _\- Thanks!

_Guest _\- Thanks for both ideas. I'll have to go buy Vicks when I get the chance.

_autumnsfire1 _\- You can offer a virtual hug but I'm not sure it will help either of them. At this point, with the way I torture the duo, they might be better off if I find a different favorite character. lol.

_Rosebadwolf42 _\- I'm sorry for not posting earlier. I normally post every Friday. But this week I had a lot going on as explained above. Thank you for your kind words. Much love to you as well. (BTW, love your name. I'm currently re-watching all of Doctor Who again).


	28. Chapter 28

For over two days, no one visited Clint's room to check on him. Well, more like no one entered the boy's room. They came by and dropped off food that came through some sort of panel in the wall that slid the food straight onto the table. Somehow the drop offs were perfectly timed so that Clint would never see how it got into his room. One second it wouldn't be there. The next there would be a click and a hiss then another click and Clint would look again and there would be a tray of food. No matter how hard Clint looked, the boy couldn't find any sign of a panel. No cracks, no slits nothing. It was as if it all appeared from magic.

At first, Clint wasn't concerned. Hell, he was rather pleased with this turn of events. He'd rather be left in peace. Fading into the background was one of the best things that tended to happen to him. When no one noticed him, no one hurt him. But mostly, as no one had come to see what he was doing, Clint had time to check out his room in more detail. He was able to look for means of escape. Not that there was much options in his tiny little room.

The bed was bolted securely to the ground and mostly all the bolts were rusted to the point that even with the proper tools; one might not be able to release it. As Clint had seen two days prior, the chair had free reign but it was made of cheap wood and nails. Easily broken if thrown against a wall or person. The table was similar to the bed. Securely bolted to the ground but it was also made of cheap wood in case a person was tossed against it. Both doors were made of steel and each had a handle. But the one that led outside was always locked. Needless to say, Clint still checked it every time he walked by it.

Inside the bathroom was the walk-in shower with only a small drain down at the bottom. The cover was glued down and the edges had a rubber lining that ridged up so that not all the water could properly drain. The old toilet was designed mostly into the wall. It was actually set so that to access the pipes, even to shut off the water, you'd have to break down the wall. The same was done to the moldy sink. It was so bad looking that Clint almost didn't go in, even when he had to go so bad it hurt.

There was no escape from this place until someone came by and unlocked that damn door again. But Clint was too afraid to make a noise to get someone to open it. Hell, he was almost too afraid to go to sleep for even a minute. Something about this place just freaked him out. Maybe it was the fact that Barney wasn't here. Or maybe it was because he didn't trust anyone here yet. Who knows? Either way, for the past two days, he had also been fighting sleep.

* * *

"...Abused. Yes, that does explain a lot. The silence, the staring... He'll never trust us," Lisa's voice echoed through the door. Clint groaned, rolling over on his bed to stare at the silver object in disgust. He had finally given into his exhaustion a little over an hour ago and had lain down. Stress and anxiety kept him awake for another forty minutes or so. He had only been asleep for around twenty when Lisa and her guest, Jazuat, decided to start speaking outside his door.

"There isn't much on his S.H.I.E.L.D file. It actually was never really proven. Just assumed," Jazuat's voice replied. Clint grimaced. Barney always told him to keep their father's beatings silent. The boys swore that one day they'd tell someone. Apparently they never did. Maybe it was for the best. Guess they did a good job. Jazuat continued speaking. "At age 6, his parents died in a car crash. But, that's two years in this boy's future. According to some reports from the orphanage he gets sent to, Clint was a loner. Didn't get along with the other kids and had a problem with authority, especially the male figure head there."

"So, he'd always been difficult. Is there anyone he'd be willing to open up too?" Lisa questioned, trying to sound friendly and supportive. Clint snarled as Jazuat scoffed. He wouldn't trust a damned single person that came into his room unless they were there to save him. But even then, he wouldn't trust them enough to answer questions about himself.

"That's alive or willing to help us? Doubtful. Agent Barton isn't known for keeping friends," Jazuat mentioned. Lisa snorted. Of course that would be true. Why did the only person that had to get this serum be so difficult to get through? But there was some good news from this... No friends meant, no one cared about him.

"Then no one would mind if we... Damage him?"

"It uh... Might be best to see what damage could be done on his young body now and if he gets older, to see if what we do carries along," Jazuat pointed out. Clint shuddered. This wasn't sounding good at all. Lisa barked out a loud laugh. Unbeknownst to Clint, she had been planning on this all along. She didn't need Jazuat's approval in this.

"Wow, S.H.I.E.L.D doesn't screen their employees very well do they? You certainly have a very sadistic mind."

"I was fine until S.H.I.E.L.D told me they wouldn't help me with my cancer. I'm certain that if I could get a blood sample from Rogers or Banner that it could make major strides in cancer research," Jazuat grunted. Lisa snorted as if she had thought the same thing once before. Clint frowned. What did Steve and Bruce have to do with cancer research? What could their blood do? How were they any different from anyone else?

"Well, don't worry. We have Barton now. If we get this serum to work right, we can de-age cancer cells out of existence. Well, of course it wouldn't just be cancer. All disease would be wiped out; everything and anything that could kill mankind. World hunger would be over as well! We could fast forward the aging of animals, plants... The world would be saved," Lisa began spouting as if she was arguing with Jazuat. Jazuat snorted and shook his head with a smile. Lisa frowned, beginning to wonder if she had turned him away from this whole process. What did she say that upset him?

"I'm not looking into the grand scheme right now, Miss Cooper," the doctor announced. Lisa chuckled as the man continued on. "Just looking to save my own skin long enough to see my little girl grow up."

"Oh, I know. I have just been thinking this over for some time now. This argument was actually intended for Banner. But as I don't need him..."

"Won't you need the actual serum at some point?"

"The serum is in Barton. What Banner has in an abomination, rather much like himself now. And thanks to you, we have Barton's original DNA scans, so we know what the serum may have changed. Now, it's just a matter of testing," Lisa replied before Clint heard footsteps that began to fade away. The boy grunted. He really needed to get out of here soon. The longer he waited the worse it was going to get here. Especially, seeing as apparently no one cared about him.

* * *

Three more days passed with no one visiting. Meals were still delivered through that strange un-viewable panel. No one else had any strange conversations outside Clint's room. In fact, Clint wondered if he was even supposed to have heard the conversation at all. Considering the silence since then and the fact that he had been sleeping at the time, he assumed not. Clint was beginning to wonder what was actually going on. He had thought that he had been kidnapped because of something that had been done to him but considering he had been left alone for the past five days, Clint was confused. Did they plan on just leaving him here? Was he actually in a mental hospital and Lisa was the person who says if he was 'healthy' or not?

Suddenly, the silence of the past few days was broken by loud poundings of the sounds of many footfalls echoing from down the hall as they drew closer and closer to Clint's room. The boy stiffened as he sat up from his bed. He glanced at the door as the pounding silenced right outside the metal object. Someone, no, many some ones had arrived for him and they were expecting trouble. Clint frowned. He hadn't ever really given anyone any trouble before but then again... In the conversation he had overheard, he was supposed to be an 'agent' from some group. Maybe he was trained in some deadly form of martial arts or something. Looking at his hands, he couldn't think of anything though.

"He may be a four year old kid in appearance but he is a trained agent. Be prepared for trouble. We want him alive and unharmed but your guns are loaded. Only use if necessary," an unfamiliar voice told what Clint assumed was a rather large group. The boy stood up from his bed and leaned against the frame. Slowly he held his hands up in a surrender position, similar to the ways he had seen many 'bad guys' do on TV during shows Barney used to watch at home. There was no way he was going to put up a fight.

Clint barely flinched when the door suddenly burst open. He hadn't even heard the click of the lock disengaging. The room quickly flooded with men and woman dressed in some strange bright yellow uniform that seemed like a hazmat suit. Clint would have laughed at the strange design if not for the real and dangerous looking guns that each person held and pointed straight at his chest. Once he was completely surrounded, the whole room froze as if waiting for Clint to suddenly attack. When the boy didn't move, the guards began looking uncomfortable at pointing their weapons at an unarmed kid who was for all intense and purposes, surrendering.

"Uh, Sir?" someone finally asked. The person must have been in the back of the group because Clint couldn't tell who actually spoke. One of the men in front moved. His outfit had an orange strip that ran across his uniform in different areas rather than black like everyone else. He was the only one that had a slightly different outfit. Clint assumed that it was like that to show he was the leader of some sort.

"Agent Clint Barton, you are to be moved to a new room. We expect you to move calmly and not fight us. Will you comply?" the man demanded, his gun shifting up and down as if the man was using it as threatening tool. Clint looked the man over before slowly nodding. Over twenty men and women with guns verses him? Why the hell wouldn't he calmly follow them? Never the less, all the guards seemed stunned at his revelation. But the man stepped aside and allowed Clint to move before him. Clint began walking and the man took steps behind him. Everyone else quickly followed. Halfway down the hall, Clint realized the group was discussing him, trying to keep it down but at the same time they were loud enough to be heard.

"Is something wrong with him?"

"He's diseased!"

"Five days in that room alone broke the mighty Hawkeye?"

"I heard Cooper state that he doesn't remember his training. If that's true, we should kill him now."

"He's really only four years old. He must be terrified."

"My four year old would freak out at seeing a gun. Probably piss her pants or pass out or something... Not just freeze..."

"Holy shit man, this has to be the easiest guard duty, ever. I thought, once I heard that it was Hawkeye that I was gonna die. Hell, I went out and got another life insurance policy... Wait, damn, now I'm gonna have to fucking pay..."

"Just wait. He'll attack soon. He's just getting us off guard."

But Clint didn't attack. Nor did he have any intention of attacking any of the guards. He was outnumbered and definitely, outmuscled and out experienced. The boy had no idea who these people normally dealt with but he knew better than to make it worse. Attacking anyone, especially these armed and apparently well trained (lol) guards, would certainly make it a lot worse for him. There was no way Clint was going to make things worse. The guns were bad, he knew that. The amount of men and women were bad, an obvious.

The rather large group moved down the hall to the end and turned right. Following that to its end, Clint was shifted left and then down the second right where there was another group of guards waiting, almost expecting a fight. Not seeing one, they looked around the other group, confused at the lack of non-action. Clint quickly realized that this group was to refresh the guards traveling with him. _'What type of person do they take me for?'_ Clint could help but wonder as he was led deeper on with the new group simply adding themselves into his original one. Distracted, Clint didn't notice until it was too late that the group had led him into a new room.

This room was mostly bare of items, similar to Clint's old room. But rather than the sparse furniture that had been in the other one, this room only had one simple table like bed that rather quickly reminded Clint of a hospital bed. It was also designed with straps that made the boy stop moving. The back wall had hanging cabinets with locks and glass doors that looked to be filled with vials, notepads, needles, and other tools that Clint couldn't even begin to name. Clint froze in place as he stared at the room. Something about this didn't seem like it would end up being good for him.

"Here it comes!" a voice warned behind the boy and somewhere in the middle of the group of guards. Clint took a hesitating step back in fear and felt the tip of a gun press into his back. The boy froze again, too afraid that shifting even his eyes would make the owner of the gun fire it. Apparently, everyone feared pretty much a similar thing as no one really moved until the man who had dressed differently from everyone stepped forward.

"Go lay down on the table," the leader's voice demanded. Tensely, as he still feared the gun jabbing into his back, Clint nodded and gradually stepped deeper into the room. He stopped as there was a collection of safety triggers switched off and clicks as bullets were loaded. The leader turned around to the guards behind him. Everyone was just as tense as the four year old and as such, they were prone to do something stupid. And the leader was not going to have that stupid thing be shooting the poor boy when he actually was following orders. "Stop it. He's actually listening, you fuckers."

"It's a trick, it has to be," someone countered. The leader searched the group behind him in an effort to find the one who had spoken but apparently they hid themselves after speaking.

"God damn it, you are all gonna cause the fucking issue," the leader snapped at them. Shaking his head, he placed a hand on Clint's shoulder. Both Clint and the leader had to try to ignore the fact that the light touch almost made the poor four year old jump through the roof. Slowly and carefully, the duo headed toward the table. In a bought of great anticipation, everyone watched as Clint was carefully placed onto the bed and then gently but tightly strapped down. Once set, the leader stepped back. "There. Now all of you, back to your posts!"

The group was rather leisurely in leaving. Almost as if they were still waiting for someone to mess it up or do something different. Hawkeye was never this complacent before. Could his four year old self really be so dissimilar? So many were just shocked at this new behavior, they wanted to see what was going to happen next when the boy realized they were about to do experiments on him. It was too strange to see such an agent that they used to fear and speak about in awe, left in such a state.

"Oh good, he's already strapped in," Lisa suddenly called, slipping through the remaining guards. Behind her entered a team of five men and women. They were dressed in lab coats of a bright yellow color. Clint could tell that they must be more scientists. The team each carried some sort of something with them, varying from trays with needles and more vials to scalpels and other tools. Clint shifted on the table. This really wasn't beginning to look good now.

"What is it that you have in mind for the boy?" the leader of the guards suddenly wondered. Lisa glanced at him as she wandered past. The leader was focused on Clint and she could tell that the boy's four year old frame was getting to the guard. Lisa could only assume that Clint must have been using some sort of childhood charm on the men and women. Thankfully the scientists that she screened to work with her were all men and women who didn't have children and actually didn't tend to care for kids either. Made it easier to deal with what they were about to do.

"Nothing you need concern yourself with. Just remember, if he was his proper age, Hawkeye more than likely would have killed you by now," Lisa reminded. The man huffed and turned to walk away. As he reached the door he paused.

"I actually have run into Hawkeye a few times in my many years working for AIM. He, actually, only kills the guards who are evil. He's a pretty good judge of character just by looking at us," the man snarled softly before walking out of the room and closing the door behind him. The few remaining guards, that had been hanging around outside in the hall, all let out a loud moan of displeasure at the door being closed but left to their posts soon after.

"Ugh. I hope they won't all be disrupting us when we get started. He more than likely will be getting loud," one of the scientists growled, setting a small tray table up by Clint's left arm. Lisa turned to the man and smiled.

"I made sure this room was sound proof. We'll be able to hear even the softest of cough from outside in the hall but in here... A bomb would explode and you wouldn't even hear a whisper when your ear is pressed against the door," Lisa boasted. The scientist who had spoken just nodded and continued to set up the tray with tools that Clint couldn't see as the straps held him down too tightly and the tray was set at the wrong angle for him to see it.

"That is awesome. I could really use that for my cousin. Course, I think he'd rather it be the opposite way as he doesn't want to hear his neighbors," another scientist laughed. "God, if I have to hear another complaining story about how loud his neighbors get when they have sex, I'm just gonna murder him."

"Want my help, I'm sick of hearing about it too," someone else muttered before the group laughed. Lisa shook her head and looked at Clint. The boy was making disgusted faces. She smiled. Apparently, Clint's family wasn't ones who kept to the whole ideals of keeping adult things silent from kiddos. So age four Clint would certainly know about sex. That just made the woman smile and laugh even more.

"Let's get to this. I need lots of blood samples, some bone marrow samples. Might as well get some spinal fluids and whatever else we can get. Hell, maybe we can even induce an age change while we work. Hurry up people. Who knows how long we have with him being only four. Banner's papers stated that he could suddenly age to death!" Lisa suddenly shouted at the group, mostly to see the boy's reaction. Clint's eyes widened in horror.

"WHAT?"

* * *

BANG

BANG

BANG

"Sir?"

BANG

BANG

"Sir... I don't think..."

BANG

BANG

"That may be unwise."

BANG

BANG

BA-

"Uh? Wha?" Tony blearily called when his head didn't connect with his desk as it had been doing continuously for the past few hours. Slowly, his eyes and mind focused on what was happening. A hand was gently holding his forehead and placed so that it wouldn't connect with the hard surface waiting below. Gingerly, Tony turned to follow the hand up to a wrist, then to the arm and up to the waiting and worried face of Bruce.

"Are you going to keep smashing your head against your desk? JARVIS was getting worried about brain damage," Bruce mentioned, moving his hand away so that he could take a look at the rather large red mark that was already forming a decent bruise underneath. Bruce cringed at the sight. He could see now why the AI was concerned. Tony had been hitting his head for almost three hours now. Thankfully the genius hadn't been doing it to hurt himself so it wasn't hard hits but the repetition of even soft hits could do a lot of damage.

"You gonna stay here?" Tony countered, his voice sounding weak, tired and so unlike Tony that Bruce was even more worried than before. The doctor nodded. Sighing, Tony shook his head which took that moment to finally catch up with the multiple hours of abuse. The genius groaned and plopped his head down before Bruce could stop him.

BANG.

"Tony," Bruce moaned, moving a chair closer as he could see that this was a more serious situation than JARVIS had first warned. Slowly, the doctor looked up to the camera that Tony had long ago pointed out as a sensor for the AI. "Get the others down here."

"Why? Why not make it pity party? Let's all make fun of the genius for not being able to find our archer. I couldn't find you. Now when Clint is in danger, I can't find him," Tony bemoaned into the desk, his words slurring a little as his mouth was crushed by the hard surface. Bruce frowned but didn't say anything. It had been almost a week since Clint went missing. There were no clues, just like what happened when Bruce had been taken. No one in the 'evil' community was saying anything. S.H.I.E.L.D had nothing, Tony had nothing... Natasha had disappeared, searching out her contacts in an effort to get something. Seeing as she hadn't reappeared, everyone basically assumed that she had nothing as well.

"Bruce? Tony?" Pepper's voice called out from the entrance of the lab. Tony had set himself up at the furthest table from the entrance, almost as if he could hide in disgrace. Bruce sighed and leaned back to call out to her. He didn't get a chance. "They must be in the back."

"I still do not understand how friend Tony got the magic to turn friend Clint into a child," a familiar but once missing voice echoed throughout the lab. Bruce smiled. Even Tony perked up.

"J, why didn't you say that Thor arrived?" Tony chided of his AI.

"You were rather busy with damaging your skull. It was hard to get a word in edge wise, Sir," JARVIS quickly retorted over Steve's own echoing response to Thor.

"Tony didn't use 'magic'. He used science. Some sort of serum that was accidently given to Clint made him become a six year old... Then a five month old and last we knew, a four year old boy," Steve explained as he, Thor and Pepper rounded some equipment and spotted Bruce and Tony. The Science Bros were beginning to get up go and join their friends but now it was too late. Within one second, Pepper noticed the bruise on Tony's head.

"What did you do!?" she screeched at him before rushing over to get a better look at it. Tony winced when she gently placed a loving finger on it. Thor's hand gripped Mjolnir's handle tighter in anger.

"What fiend has attacked you?" the thunderer raged. Bruce shook his head.

"Tony attacked himself," Bruce replied which only seemed to serve to confuse Thor. So the doctor just shook his head and Steve just whispered that he should forget it.

"Any luck on finding Clint?" Steve wondered. Bruce almost smacked his head against a hard surface while Pepper spun and gave the super solider an angered glare that made him wince back in fear. Steve should have known better than to ask that. The solider looked down at the ground in misery. "Sorry I asked."

"No... You have every right. I know you are all just as worried as I am," Tony replied, surprising the others. But Pepper was quick to get over it as she had been around for when Bruce was missing. She had seen Tony learning about everyone's different reactions to how they'd respond to a missing friend. Steve would stand over someone's shoulder, Pepper would lend support by making sure that everyone rested... Well, Thor and Bruce weren't around but Tony had experienced Bruce's before. Bruce was similar to Tony; getting lost in checking over data and examining for clues.

"Clint isn't who he used to be. We know he doesn't have his memories from his training. For all we know, the people who have him right now are hurting him. Or worse," Pepper mentioned. "But we will find him. Someone will slip up sooner or later. Clint will give us a clue. Something will happen to let us know where he is. Don't worry."

"Excuse me, everyone," JARVIS called out to the group. They all stopped. "It seems, Agent Romanoff has returned with a rather distraught guest."

* * *

**4439 words this chapter and back on track. LOL. Still, sorry for last week. Too much going on around my mind. Hopefully it won't happen again as next weekend we are moving the master bedroom/office to the upstairs. My husband was just reminding me that he'd have to take apart the computer to start moving the room. Hopefully I can post before he does anything crazy, lol.**

**Anyways, family is good. Husband still ill with his curious illness. Toddler Clint still coughing but all other symptoms gone. I'm doing good other than the fact that my body is running from extreme cold to extreme heat and my poor boys have to suffer every time I touch the temp gauge. lol. But moving on...**

**Review Responses:**

**Favorites: ** JayJay-san

**Followers:** *no one* (course, getting close to the end so not really surprised)

**Review Responses:**

_Niom Lamboise _\- Thanks.

_sammygirl1963_ \- lol, I love that everyone hates Lisa. I totally wanted her to be the most hated person ever. As for torturing a 4 year old, just wait. There is more coming. The Avengers will come. Maybe not as fast as we all would like, but... Need to keep the story entertaining, lol. Thank you for the prayers.

_amy. d .fuller .9 _\- I love that you hate Lisa Cooper. And to be honest, I love the mixed feelings for Jazuat, a man who is not trying to be evil and just survive a horrible illness. Sadly, Clint won't regain his memories. As I stated at the beginning of the story, Clint's mind at age six and now four is filled with so many memories. His mind can't take the old memories and his future memories. As a baby, his mind was almost nearly blank of memories and could handle his future memories being there. The way I based this was kind-of like the scene you see in _Inside Out_ (if you have ever seen that movie). If you don't know what I'm talking about, I'll PM you a description.

_toshirolovehim _ \- Tee hee. As I said before, sorry for my lateness. At least this time you didn't have to wait a full week. Just a work week, lol.

_MO-5431 _\- Thank you. Glad you liked the new plot twist. Thanks for the thoughts on my family.


	29. Chapter 29

"Did you get all the samples?" Lisa demanded over the loud sobbing of a four year old boy in a lot of pain. She snarled at the boy who basically hadn't stopped crying since one of the team members went for a spinal fluid tap. Lisa dared to mention that it would be best to not mess with the serum that Banner had made by mixing in pain killers, so they did it un-medicated. Needless to say, everyone was glad for the soundproof room as, every now and then, one of them needed to take a break and leave so they could stop hearing his screams. Their own heads were aching fiercely from his screams and the breaks seemed to help a little.

"I believe so. If not, it's not like he's leaving any time soon. We still have him for a bit longer," the scientist commented, making it seem as if Clint wasn't part of a very important team that was known for getting things done. Especially, impossible things... Things like finding their friend even though there were absolutely no clues as to where he could possibly be.

"Yes, well. You might not have him at age four for much longer," Lisa snarled, mentally praying that the man hadn't cursed her. It would be her luck that because this arrogant man had claimed that, then the Avengers would suddenly beat down AIM's door.

"Why? Why me? What did I ever do?" Clint suddenly sobbed. This was something that he had been doing over and over. Same words that he had been saying over and over as well. Lisa sneered and glared at the boy. Since her first meeting with him when he hadn't spoken a word, Lisa hadn't liked him. Hell, she hated him and couldn't wait to torture him. Now that she was torturing him, she couldn't wait until she didn't need him and could kill him.

"Someone shut him the fuck up," Lisa snapped before walking out the door and slamming it closed. One of the women quickly reached into one of the most recently unlocked cabinets and opened it. Inside was a roll of duct tape, something that they had to use a few times to make sure the boy stopped squirming around. The woman pulled it out and quickly ripped off a rather large piece before spinning around and roughly slapping it over Clint's mouth. The boy jerked back in surprise as she had not only slapped it over his mouth but also over his nose.

"There," the woman laughed before tossing the tape back into the cabinet and closing it. Clint was quick to panic at the lack of air passing through the silver tape and glue. His body started twitching and jerking as he tried to cry out in an effort to let someone know what was going on. But no one was paying attention to him now. They were all focused on doing their own things in preparation for whatever else Lisa might have them do, that none of them noticed Clint's panicked attempts at getting their attention. And as anyone knows, when you can't breathe, the more you panic, the faster your air disappears. So it wasn't long until Clint found himself slowly slipping into unconsciousness. The last thing he heard was the door open and Lisa's voice.

"What's wrong with the brat?"

* * *

"Tell them what you told me," Natasha ordered her 'guest' with a not so gentle kick to the man's stomach. Tony cringed, once again reminded that he opened his home to a dangerous spy and assassin. Bruce frowned at the state of the injured 'guest'. The poor man looked like he had gone through a few bouts in a boxing ring. His face was mostly all bruises, cuts and bits of swollen skin covered in dried on blood; almost completely unrecognizable. Steve stood off to the side of the group, giving the man his most disapproving gaze while proudly standing in a rather iconic Captain America pose. Beside him, Thor restlessly played with Mjolnir, almost as if it was a reminder that he was a force worth reckoning. Pepper hid behind the duo, in the entry way of the living room where the group had gathered for this random meeting/discussion.

"Please! Please don't kill me!" the man begged, basically sobbing as he stared up at the other Avengers. He assumed that Natasha had already told them what she had learned from him. They just gave him a confused look as Natasha sneered and kicked him again. Steve's gaze shifted to the spy.

"Natasha," the captain snapped, stopping her from hurting the man further. The Widow turned an angered glare back at him in reply. She knew how much this man deserved every bit of pain that she delivered onto him. But Steve didn't, she rather than hit the man again, she snarled out another demand.

"Tell them what you did with Clint," the Black Widow snarled to the man, her angered gaze on Steve's face. She was pleased to see it slowly turn to surprise as her words registered in everyone's minds.

"Please! Don't hurt me!" the man once again begged as the room erupted with words of concern for their missing friend.

"You found Clint?"

"Where is our Hawk friend?"

"What happened?"

"How does this guy know what happened to Clint?"

"Where is he? What happened to him? Who has him?"

"What did he do?"

"Natasha, who is this guy?"

"Who must I punish to return our brethren?"

"Is Clint okay? When can we go get him?"

With everyone, but Pepper and Natasha, shouting over each other, it was hard to understand anyone. But Natasha could tell that basically the whole idea was that they were all concerned with Clint's health, wellbeing and where he was. The rest of it didn't tend to matter. She let the boys continue crying out questions for a few more seconds before she reached behind her back and pulled out a small pistol that she kept hidden there. Raising it to point to the ceiling, she fired. The crack of it going off silenced the room.

"You done now?" Natasha wondered after an extra moment or two of silence. Steve took that moment as leader to nod his head. Natasha accepted and nodded down toward the now trembling man as she replaced the rapidly cooling gun back into its hiding place. "Good. This is Doctor Jazuat."

"Wait, the S.H.I.E.L.D doc we brought Clint to in the first place?" Tony interrupted in surprise before angrily focusing on the man. Natasha frowned at the interruption but didn't stop the genius from going on. "Seriously? We trusted you to care for him! Not fucking kidnap him!"

"He's my only chance at life!" Jazuat tried to explain as he curled up tighter in an effort to defend himself from an attack that wasn't going to come. Tony wasn't physically violent most times and Natasha wasn't going to get involved now. Steve looked like he was going to hit an object while Bruce seemed to want to run away and wallow in misery. Only Thor looked like he was about to attack, but the thunderer knew that Jazuat had the answers they needed to find Clint.

"He's just a kid now! He has no memory of S.H.I.E.L.D! I told you this before you took him!" Bruce cried, thinking that that was what Jazuat meant. The doctor was horrified with the various possibilities of what could be happening to poor four year old Clint. All his worst fears of being experimented on, now being done of Clint. Worse though was having to be tortured for information that he didn't have while having no training for it as he was just a kid with absolutely no knowledge.

"Jazuat was recently diagnosed with cancer," Natasha retorted before things could dissolve into another screaming match again.

"Cancer? I have heard of such a disease before. Is there not a cure for such a thing? Is it not a widely known disease?" Thor asked. Tony, Bruce and Natasha shook their heads. Jazuat guiltily looked to the floor as Pepper gasped, understanding where this was heading. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Tears formed in her eyes and she was half tempted to run away, but she stayed firm and waited. She was going to listen and support the Avengers in her own way, if possible. Steve frowned as he looked over the other's miserable faces.

"Seriously? All these amazing advancements and we still haven't cured cancer?" Steve muttered. Tony turned and glared at the super solider in anger. The genius had created a rather large packet (read as ebook) of information that listed the many advancements that Steve had missed in his icy slumber. Steve never really read it. Instead, he tended to just talk to everyone or just get it from Bruce and sometimes from random online searches. Medical marvels were something he had yet to explore. Seeing the angered glare, Steve held his hands up in a calming manner.

"S.H.I.E.L.D wouldn't help me. They said they couldn't but I knew that they had something in the works. There had to be some secret project that I could have been tested for. But then this other group came to me..." Jazuat started. Natasha stopped him with a kick.

"Name the other group," she ordered.

"Advanced Idea Mechanics." Bruce gasped in shock, causing everyone to look at him in surprise. He turned and began pacing as he thought about everything.

"Bruce?" Tony inquired.

"They were the ones who took me. I... I can't believe I didn't think about that before," Bruce basically shouted as he continued to frantically pace about the living room. Everyone could see that he was now beginning to blame himself for Clint's kidnapping. Tony frowned.

"Didn't you say that they pretty much left you alone?" Tony recalled. Bruce nodded, starting to ignore the conversation as he tried to recall the events from before in hopes of remembering even the smallest detail to help find Clint.

"That's because they got your research notes when they kidnapped you. Lisa Cooper, the scientist in charge of the whole project, didn't need to speak to you cause she could understand your notes quite clearly," Jazuat quickly stated, praying that this information would stop Natasha from hitting him again. Bruce spun to look at the other doctor.

"But why take Clint and release me?" Bruce wondered. Tony moaned and tossed his hands in the air.

"Your notes were on the ageing serum being used on your gamma irradiated blood... Clint's blood is normal," Tony pointed out, having run into similar issues when trying to first help Clint during Bruce's kidnapping before. Bruce blushed, having forgotten that minor issue. He hadn't intended for this serum to be used on anyone other than him, so he never tested it on any other type of blood. Tony gasped in horror. "Dear lord, she's gonna study him!"

"She has no qualms about hurting him. Or even killing him. All she wants is the serum," Jazuat informed the group. Thor let out a roar of frustration before rushing forward so fast that no one could stop him. The god lifted Jazuat up by the front collar of his shirt and slammed the doc's back into the wall beyond. Jazuat, having been tortured long and hard by Natasha beforehand, whimpered in pain as his abused body protested at the strenuous treatment.

"WHERE IS THIS GROUP HIDING?" Thor thundered as Natasha leveled the pistol she had used before at the thunderer's back. Steve stood tense in a battle stance behind the Widow, ready for a battle with the angered god. Tony's armor finished assembling around him as the words echoed about the room and Bruce backed away from it all, not wanting to bring out the Hulk in such a confined space. Pepper gasped again and moved deeper into the hall, the noise drew the Avenger's collective gazes toward her in surprise. They had forgotten that she was still there. She had been silent for so long that they had just acted as if she was a statue.

Jazuat, who was still being basically strangled by Thor, was the first to get over the 'sudden' revelation of her prescience. He had been facing her throughout the whole ordeal. The only one who could see her the entire time. While he had been distracted from the pain of the beatings that Natasha had given him before, never mind the fact that Thor's grip on his shirt was painful as it pulled at the ribs that Jazuat was now certain the Widow had broken. The sooner all this ended for him, the better it would be. S.H.I.E.L.D came up to him two hours before Natasha found him claiming that they had a possible treatment that may extend his life past the original estimate that was given to him.

"I'll show you! Please, just promise not to hurt me further," Jazuat begged, knowing that the cancer had already weakened his body. If his body had to heal from wounds sustained from the Avengers and from the cancer, never mind whatever this new treatment did, Jazuat might not survive. He needed to stay on their good side, if they even had one anymore since the archer had been kidnapped. Especially now that they knew he was being experimented on as they spoke.

Natasha turned to glare at the dying doctor, intent on shooting out a joint, or maybe even just every bone, for every bruise, cut, scrape, and puncture mark on Clint's body once he was found. Steve also glared, having wanted to get in his own punch or two at least once but he knew they needed this man. They needed this man conscious if not alive and one or two punches from Steve while he was this angry did not mean Jazuat would certainly stay that way. Tony snarled, wanting to just repulsor blast the evil doc into oblivion right now. He had been protecting Clint from so much since the archer had been turned into a boy.

Hell, Tony had almost lost him to the government and now to actually lose him from some idiot who thought that this random accident could be his salvation? Well, Tony was just about to lose it. Bruce hissed, fighting to keep Hulk down as the green beast roared forth in the other doctor's head. He backed away, thinking it might help but knowing in his heart that the only thing that could calm Hulk down now would be seeing Clint happy and healthy.

Meanwhile, Thor gently placed Jazuat back on the ground but still kept a grip on the man's shirt. Everyone froze, not sure what the thunderer was going to do. Thor was an enigma. Sometimes it would seem like he'd just flip out in anger but instead would laugh and other times it was the opposite. He always explained it as his upbringing to be ruler of Asgard. But the others were never quite sure. Thor's personality just seemed to be that way.

"As my word of Prince of Asgard, we shall no longer harm you." Needless to say this caused quite a bit of uproar with the other Avengers. But Thor held up Mjolnir to silence them and they did, seeing it as the threat that Thor meant it to be. "I shall also, on my next return home, personally speak to my father of finding a cure for this 'cancer' that ales you," Thor mightily told the now trembling Jazuat before releasing the doc's shirt. In his shocked stated, Jazuat could not hold himself up so he tumbled to the floor as Thor spun around to face the angered faces of the other Avengers. The thunderer barely let them speak for a moment before holding up his now free hand to silence them as he continued on his decree. "These promises will only be kept at the behest of our might Hawk friend, Clint of Barton. If he feels that this 'doctor of _Shield_' does not deserve such treatment, we will abide by his wishes. But the wish of peace in return of our warrior friend will be kept until he is found."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," Jazuat sobbed in a heap on the floor at the thunderer's feet. Thor snarled at the sight and backed away, tempted as he was to kick the man away from him instead.

"I do not do this for you. I do this so that I may safely return my friend before too much damage is done," Thor growled. Jazuat gasped as he thought about what Lisa informed him of what she was to be doing.

"We have to go, now."

* * *

Clint woke to the feeling of complete and utter pain and almost wished that he had either stayed under or could quickly return but neither happened. Something was keeping him awake now and he could pretty much guarantee it was the pain itself. Thankfully, he found that though he was in pain, he was left alone in the room. The tape was, sadly, still covering his mouth and most of his nose but there was now a small slit cut open just above his upper lip that was big enough for air to pass through. Every breath smelt of glue but at least he could breathe. That was something.

He glanced around then, feeling as if this was strange now to be left alone. Honestly, he was still strapped to the table and as he moved he quickly noted that no one treated any open wounds they made when getting 'test samples'. Mostly all the tools and such that had been brought in before was now missing and it looked like the cabinets had been emptied as well. Off to the side, just out of his line of sight, Clint could just about see a machine that reminded him of the onetime his father needed someone to 'jump start' his 'car battery'. What it could be doing here, Clint had no idea as he honestly had no idea of its real purpose.

"Do you think he's awake now?" a voice asked from outside the room. It sounded bored, like they had been checking many times or had been watching paint dry for twenty minutes. Clint stilled, forgetting what he had heard Lisa say about the room so long ago. A thump followed. It was a noise that Clint was very familiar with. The person outside the room was with someone else and that someone else had smacked the first person on the back of their head.

"Idiot," another voice snapped-a female this time; more familiar than the other one. Clint recognized this one as one of the scientists who had been in his room collecting samples before he passed out. "Lisa said we wouldn't hear him. Just open the fucking door."

Keys jingled before Clint heard them sliding into place. A memorable sound after the one time that Barney accidently locked him in a closet only to find out moments later that their father had the only key. Clint was locked there for hours before Barney had been able to wake their father and retrieve the key. Listening carefully, Clint heard when the lock clicked and turned to see the door open. Two of the scientist from before entered and stared at him in surprise as he glared harshly back at them. The woman smiled and looked to her companion. "I think he's awake. Go get Lisa. Time to start phase two."

"I didn't read phase two," the man replied as he took a step back. His eyes wandered to the machine that Clint had spied earlier. Upon seeing it, his eyes widened and he turned to the woman. "Electro shock? What for?"

"Lisa wants to see what causes him to age and if we can get a sample of his blood while he's ageing to see what is happening during that moment," the woman explained as she walked closer to Clint. Slowly she lifted a hand and gently began petting the side of his face. "I've been looking forward to this part since she told me about it."

"Wait, I've heard about you. You're Amanda Logi. The scientist brought on because you test the physical boundaries of a human life. Jesus Christ, you tortured people to death," the man cursed. Clint's eyes widened in shock at these words as Amanda smiled. She continued to rub her hand up and down his face, gently petting him. If not for the years of abuse from his father, Clint would have flinched away in his disgust of her. "You work for AIM? I thought that was a prank."

"No. I am no prank. I was hired by AIM for my genius, just like you. Not many people get men and women like us. AIM understands that, that's why this group was founded. Not for what everyone else thinks," Amanda told the man, her focus solidly on Clint. The man shook his head, seemingly stunned at the truth of the matter. Clint just watched Amanda, not trusting her to do anything more than what she was already doing. "If you don't like it, just go and get Lisa. I'll tell her and you can leave. She'll understand that you don't have what it takes. You don't have the same scientific mind like us."

"Jesus. I love science. I love understanding things but... This... This is going too far," the man cried. Clint shuddered, the slight movement making Amanda smile even as she turned to face the man. She looked so pleased with herself as she watched him back up toward the still open door. He looked absolutely terrified and she seemed to love it. Almost as if she was getting turned on by his fear of her.

"Ben. Sweetie. Science is all about going too far. It's about going past the understood. Expanding one's horizon. You can't do that without breaking some old limitations," Amanda pointed out. She chuckled lightly at the man's horrified expression as she moved closer still. "You're limiting yourself right now."

"You're insane," 'Ben' snapped. Amanda laughed in a hysterical way that made Ben shudder and Clint wish that he could get away. She moved to stand close to Ben, shifting ever so slightly so that he was blocked from the doorway. He didn't notice as his fear made him move to try and get away from her.

"We all have to be a little insane. I mean, what sane mind comes up with the idea of an atom? Something so small, it can't be seen by the human eye. Or even something as simple as the idea of flight? All of us are insane in our own ways. My way is just a little different that yours," Amanda mentioned. Ben shook his head. Knowing the man was distracted, Amanda shifted again to make Ben back up deeper into the room and further from the exit. Yet again, he didn't even notice. Clint did and he cringed. Amanda smiled and glanced over at the boy. She could tell that he knew what the man did not and it excited her. Now she couldn't wait until she started torturing the four year old. There was so much that she had planned.

"That's... That's different-" Ben began to protest, confusion mixed in his voice. Amanda slammed the door shut to stop him. Ben jumped at the sound. Clint's muscles tightened in an effort to stop himself from doing the same thing. Even so, some of the ties that held him down jingled but neither scientist turned to look at him.

"How? How is their science different? How is your science different? Trust me Ben, if someone came up to you and said that simply taking blood samples from that boy is torture, you'd be making the same arguments," Amanda yelled. Ben flinched at the veracity of her words. Even Clint couldn't hold back his own minor twitch. Thankfully Amanda was so fully focused on Ben and Ben on her, that neither noticed it.

"No! I wouldn't-" Ben started but Amanda cut him off with a sharp laugh.

"You wouldn't torture a four year old boy? Really?" she asked waiting only a quick beat before waving her hand over to Clint's still form. "Cause I didn't see you untying him while he screamed in pain. Or even giving him pain medication. Hell, where were you to stop me from taping his nose and mouth shut? Did you even think to cut a slit in the tape to allow him to breathe? Guess what Ben, that's torture!"

"No..." Ben sobbed, shaking his head as he backed himself into a wall. Amanda snorted at the man, rounding around Clint's table to get closer to the machine that had been brought in. She just shook her head in disbelief.

"Oh, yes. You're no better than I am. You tortured a boy in the name of science!"

"But I'm not gonna electrocute him!" Ben shouted. Clint sharply inhaled. He heard that term before, from Barney. When the older Barton had seen it at a friend's house, he came home and described it in great detail to Clint. Clint swore that he'd do whatever it took to avoid being electrocuted at all costs (never worked but he didn't know that yet). Amanda spun to face the machine with an angered snarl. With a few quick flips, it began to power up. Ben snapped to attention and finally noticed what she was doing. "What the hell are you doing?"

"If you aren't going to join us, then... I guess I could always use another test subject," Amanda snarled before turning back around, in her hands were two metal tongs that were connected to the machine. Clint noted that Ben paled and immediately backed himself into a corner in fright. Amanda smirked as she slowly began to inch forward, placing herself between Ben's only exit as a just in case. As she moved, she pressed the metal tongs toward each other to create an arch of electricity that crackled with power and made both guys jump.

"Amanda, please. Don't you think Lisa would have a say in this?" Ben begged. Amanda laughed, sounding genuinely evil. Clint grimaced, turning to face the ceiling, knowing he didn't want to see what happens next.

"If Lisa thinks she controls me, she's got another thing coming. Once I'm done with you, I'm starting right away on this boy." With those final words, Amanda pressed the tongs against Ben's chest. Clint could only watch in horror as the lights in the room began to flicker on and off as most of the power went to the machine as it electrocuted Ben. The man's scream echoed through the small room so much that it seemed to continue for hours after Amanda removed the tongs and Ben dropped to the floor, quivering in his own urine as his muscles spasm-ed. Slowly, Amanda turned to Clint. "With him out of the way."

Before she could do anything, the door burst open with an electric blue light.

* * *

**So many people don't like Lisa. LOL. Wonder how people would feel about Amanda. 4544 words this chapter.**

**So everyone is doing fine for now. Husband is still ill for now but we just had his prep work for his surgery done today. And later today into tomorrow, we will be moving our bedroom from downstairs to upstairs. Hopefully everything will work alright with that.**

**Review Responses:**

**Favorites: ** maria0891, fluffyshadow

**Followers:** Little 3 Forever

**Review Responses:**

_Niom Lamboise _\- lol. We'll see.

_sammygirl1963_ \- lol. Sorry that I have to torture Clint, but that's pretty much all I write. As for Lisa, we'll see.

_amy. d .fuller .9 _\- lol. I love reading your reviews. Glad that everyone has Lisa as the #1 Most Hated with Karen in second place. As for Clint's brain being able to hold memories. Yes, when he was six, he did originally hold all his memories. But as his six year old memories returned, his older memories were erased. I skipped that step for when he turned four as that would have naturally happened as he grew from a baby. The mind was ready to delete things without really having to add any. If that makes sense. Thanks for the prayers. Toddler Clint is back to normal. My husband is still ill but we just went today to get prep work done for his surgery. As for me, I've been doing alright.

_toshirolovehim _ \- Glad you don't mind the wait. The Avengers are working on saving Clint, lol.


	30. Chapter 30

The squeal of the repulsor blast from Tony's Iron Man suit barely had time to stop echoing from Clint's ears before the red and gold suit burst into the small room and sent another blast into the machine that electrocuted Ben just moments prior. Amanda, who had still been holding the metal tongs, screeched in pain as the feedback from the blast raced through the copper wires and up the tongs and straight into her body. Clint didn't even feel bad for her. All he did was stare at her as the feedback sent her up into the air and flying backwards into the wall that Ben had once used as a cowering base. Her body then crumpled onto the floor beside Ben's. The man had regained some ability to move and with an evil smirk, kicked her as Tony raised his hands to aim his repulsors on the scientists just in case. Ben didn't notice.

"Clint, buddy, you okay?" Tony asked, his mechanical voice sounding distorted thanks to the faceplate being down. Clint frowned, having actually never seen Iron Man before at age four. Something in his mind triggered that this was a friendly face but as his mouth was still currently taped shut, he couldn't actually reply. "Hey, guys. I found him."

"_I'm coming to your location now, Stark. Don't scare him,_" Natasha replied, an angered grunt quickly following before her comm cut out, meaning she was still taking down AIM guards as she rushed through the halls. Tony nodded, even knowing that the spy wasn't around to actually see him do it.

"_How does he look?_" Steve questioned. Tony glanced down at the boy.

"Pale. Tired. They taped his mouth shut, so I'm guessing he might have been a bit talkative like his older self," Tony informed everyone, knowing that JARVIS had already turned off his external speakers so that Clint wouldn't hear.

"_Jesus, Stark. Take off the tape,_" Bruce cried, having never turned to Hulk as the group agreed they might need the doctor more and never mind Hulk might tear the place apart before they could find Clint.

"Uh, Brucie. Iron Man doesn't have nice soft fingers to gently grab tape," Tony patronized. Everyone groaned into the comms before Natasha stepped through the ruined door behind Tony. JARVIS let out a gentle warning to Tony that a friendly had entered the room before she spoke. Clint, who couldn't really see the doorway behind the gold and red suit, jumped at her voice.

"That's okay. I'm here now," she told the others before walking around Iron Man. She looked down on the boy with a gentle smile. At her easily recognizable face, Clint very clearly relaxed. "Hey there. You remember me?" Natasha wondered as she reached for the tape. Clint blinked his eyes once. Natasha laughed, recognizing he was trying to say yes without nodding. "Good boy. Do you know him?" she inquired, nodding her head to the suit as she gently began tugging the tape away. Clint's eyes wandered over to Tony's suit as Tony shifted to stand guard over Ben and Amanda as Ben had seemed to become more mobile finally. Thankfully the scientist was smart enough to just stare at Iron Man and not move. In fact, all Ben really did was sit there and switch between awkwardly staring at Iron Man and glaring at the still downed Amanda.

"I wasn't Iron Man when Clint was four, so I doubt it," Tony pointed out, his voice coming through the speakers again. Natasha looked up, missing Clint as he blinked very slowly three times in a maybe. She snorted at him.

"_Man of Iron. What if you lifted your mask? If he saw your face, might he remember you then?_" Thor suggested as thunder rumbled somewhere else in the compound. Tony rapidly blinked his eyes in the HUD as he pondered the words on the thunderer. Why hadn't he thought of that? Without another word, the faceplate lifted to show the genius's face. Clint's face brightened at the familiar sight even as Natasha quickly ripped the remaining tape off and both Avengers were surprised when Clint simply grimaced and didn't even cry out in pain.

"Hey, little man. How you doing?" Tony asked, making sure that his comm was connected to everyone and that it would also pick up Clint's response as he knew the others were extremely worried about the boy.

"Tony. I want to go back to the tower," Clint sobbed, having remembered it distantly from when he was a toddler. It was strange. There are memories of being at home with Barney and his mother and father but at the same time, he also had memories of being with people he considered friends. No, they were closer than that. People he considered family. When he first came too in the tower, he hadn't really remembered them but in his time away from them, Clint began to remember. And boy, did he really want to go back.

"Don't worry little man. We'll be going back soon," Tony promised as Natasha quickly went about unstrapping Clint from the table. The second the boy was unstrapped, Clint jumped into her arms and pulled her into a tight hug. For a moment, Natasha, Tony and Clint were frozen but then Natasha melted into the hug and hugged the boy back.

"We'll bring you home. Right now," Natasha ordered, glaring at Tony as if he was going to disobey him. Tony glanced down at Ben and Amanda before snorting and deciding that he could care less about them. He nodded and together the three left, Nathasa easily carrying the boy through the halls.

* * *

S.H.I.E.L.D ended up cleaning up the rest of the mess from the AIM facility. None of the Avengers cared. Nor did they care what happened to Jenson Jazuat. After picking up Clint and all meeting back at the quinjet to head back to the tower, Natasha quickly kicked the (now ex) S.H.I.E.L.D doctor out before powering up the jet and taking off. Thor still meant to keep his promise of speaking to Odin, but not for Jazuat's sake. Cancer is a horrible disease and did need a cure. The reason it wasn't for Jazuat's sake was because as soon as they got onto the jet, Tony told all the Avengers that this whole ordeal was a forbidden topic.

"Who are you?" Clint softly asked, his eyes peeking out from Tony's chest as he stared at Thor. Thor stiffened in shock. No one had thought about the fact that since turning into a kid, this was technically Clint's first interaction with the thunderer. Bruce glanced to Thor in dismay as Natasha's hands twisted on the handles of the jet's controls. Steve grimaced and gave the god a sad sympathetic look. Tony looked down at Clint as he rubbed the boy's arms in a soothing gesture, something that the genius hadn't stopped doing since taking flight.

"I am Thor, son of Odin. Prince of Asgard," Thor announced, not a loudly and proudly as he usually used to do. Clint frowned as he glanced down at Thor's hammer. "That is Mjolnir, my hammer."

"Oh... Are we... Are we friends too?" Clint wondered, his head lifting away from Tony's chest. Thor gave him a gentle smile.

"I do consider thee a friend," Thor replied. Clint nodded before glancing down.

"The people said that I'm supposed to be older... Is that true?" Clint called. No one answered for a moment. Slowly, Clint skimmed over everyone's faces. Natasha looked grim and determined. Something that showed she was missing someone she cared for deeply. Steve was worried and afraid. A sign that he didn't know how Clint was going to respond. Bruce had his head turned to the side and down. He was silently grieving. Guilty over something but what, Clint couldn't tell. Thor was looking to the heavens as if praying. The god had been missing for so long and Clint hadn't been around long enough to know what that was about. Turning about to stare about Tony, Clint could see the genius was almost in tears. "How old am I really supposed to be?"

"That doesn't matter," Tony tried to argue.

"How old?" Clint snapped, jerking out of Tony's arms.

"Almost 30," Bruce whispered from his seat. Clint turned to face the doctor with a stunned face. For a moment nothing was said. Then Clint took a breath and sighed.

"When they were changing my room they mentioned a name... Hawkeye?"

"That is indeed the moniker you used when fighting beside us," Thor answered quickly receiving angered glares from the others. Thor frowned. "We have kept enough from him. He has learned these secrets himself. If we wish for his trust, we best now reveal all we know."

"I don't need any more," Clint muttered as Natasha turned to look over her shoulder.

"We're gonna land in a minute at the tower. Get ready," she softly informed them all. No one replied to her, not that she expected a reply. They were all too busy watching Clint as the boy shifted subtly away from Tony. Natasha turned back to pay attention to the controls in time to land.

Once they landed and the back opened, Clint jumped to his feet and rushed out. Pepper was waiting at the back of the jet. Seeing the boy rushing out, she smiled and opened her arms, getting ready to hug him but he just rushed right past her. No one spoke for a moment as they had no idea what to do. When he was six and even when he was a baby, Clint had always been closest with Pepper and now... Now it seemed like he didn't want a thing to do with any of them. Pepper turned to look at the others.

"What happened?" she mumbled, trying hard to not cry as her heart broke from rejection. Tony rushed forward to grab his girl and pull her into a stiff hug.

"Apparently when kidnapped, Clint found out what really happened to him. Not finding out from friendly faces... I guess that bothered him," Natasha explained. Pepper let out a choking sob as she pressed her face into Tony's chest. The CEO feared that something like this could have happened. She prayed that it wouldn't.

"What are we going to do?" Steve wondered, his arm resting against the side of the jet as he leaned his weight on it. He looked lost and defeated. "We still have no idea how to fix him."

"We don't even know if the serum has stabilized and I doubt he'll let us get any blood samples any time soon," Bruce pointed out. Tony nodded, rubbing his hand up and down Pepper's back.

"We may have saved our friend from those villains. But he is not truly saved," Thor sadly mentioned. Everyone nodded in agreement. It was at that moment that an alarm went off. The group jumped in surprise before getting mentally prepared for battle.

"JARVIS, what is it?" Tony demanded to the inside of his tower.

"It seems young Clint has escaped the tower and is currently running loose in New York City," JARVIS informed the group. Pepper jumped out of Tony's arms in shock, her hand covering her mouth in surprise.

"Well... Shit..."

* * *

Clint ran hard from the tower. He knew he had to get far away right now; the further away, the better. It wasn't that he wanted to run from the people that he was currently considering calling friends; it was just that everything he had currently learned was too much. He needed time to think and with all the others watching over him, he just couldn't. There were too many questions right now. It was too big. He needed space. Needed so much more than they would give him.

Who were these people? Could he actually trust them? Did they do this to him intentionally? What was their part in all this? Were they actually his friends? Heck, did they intend to fix him or study him like the Lisa and her crazy group of scientists? What were their true intentions with him? So many more questions filtered through Clint's head as the boy ran.

It wasn't long until he found himself fully lost in the streets. Out of breath, Clint slowed to a stop and turned back the way he came. Stark Tower was a fading blip in the distance. His eyes could barely tell the difference between it and the other buildings around New York. Smiling lightly, Clint slipped down the first alley way he saw. Finding the tower won't be hard if he ever wanted to return. The tower was large and rather obvious. Keeping out of sight from it was what Clint was worried about now. He needed to stay hidden if he wanted to have his time away.

"God, what do I do now?" Clint wondered to himself, feeling more lost than ever. Things were so messed up. At least when he had been at home, with his family, he had known where he stood. His father may have hated him and beat him, but Clint knew how to act and what to do. Here and now, everything was so confusing. Sighing deeply, Clint leaned against the wall of a building. "I want to go home."

But right now, did he really know what home was? Was home with his drunken father? A mother who barely protected him? An older brother whom sometimes led their father straight to his best hiding spots? Or was home here, with these random strangers? These people who claim he was supposed to be an Avenger. Who also say he is actually around 30 years old. What is home to Clint now?

* * *

Natasha ended up being the one who found Clint in the alley that he had hidden down. It wasn't surprising really. Even as an adult, he pretty much still acted like he did when he was a kid. Ran and hide in the same way. It was easy for her to trace him straight to the alley that he had ran to. She had no problems finding him. Seeing that the boy wasn't in any danger, she called the others to let them know that he was found and safe but didn't approach. Instead, she stood at the end of the alley and waited.

After almost half an hour, Clint sensed her presence. A long enough time that Natasha noted at least thirty different ways that she could have killed him. Or someone else could have come by and kidnapped him again. Heck, something even worse could have happened to him as well. But thankfully, Natasha figured it best not to mention any of that when Clint finally sulked out to stand beside her. They stood there together for another few minutes in silence before Clint glanced over at the spy.

"Are you gonna bring me back?" Clint whispered, kicking lightly at the ground. Natasha glanced down at him as her phone dinged a text. With a snort, she pulled it out of her pocket. Clint sighed deeply as she glanced down at it. The text was from Pepper's phone. Natasha wasn't really surprised.

_'I have a surprise for Clint when he returns. A lot has happened since he turned into a kid and I remembered adult Clint always saying he wanted a pet...'_ the text read. Natasha raised an eyebrow at it. What the heck was Pepper thinking about bringing an animal into Stark Tower? Even worse, after everything that Clint went through, how would he respond to the creature? The spy in the end just rolled her eyes and glanced down at Clint as she slipped the phone back into her pocket. Pepper wanted it to be a surprise, Natasha wasn't going to ruin it just yet.

"I'll only bring you back if you want," she replied. Clint glanced up at her with a curious look. She focused on him, almost daring him to question her. He sighed and looked away with a shrug of his shoulders. Even after spending close to an hour away from the tower, he still had no idea what to do or even what to think.

"I don't know," Clint muttered.

"I hear Pepper has a surprise waiting back at the tower," Natasha taunted, figuring it was going to be the only way to get him back. Clint frowned as the spy's phone dinged with another text. He watched as she pulled it out and smiled at it. Apparently she had received something she liked. Slowly she turned the phone to face him. Clint glanced at it and noted a picture of a small black kitten being held carefully by Tony, who was staring at it in awe. Apparently he wasn't the only one who had never really had a pet. Another ding replaced Tony's picture with Steve holding the kitten. A third ding and now it was Bruce. Clint laughed at the forth ding when the picture showed Thor as the kitten was climbing in his golden locks rather than being held in his hands.

"She got a cat?" Clint asked, sounding more stunned than anything. Natasha nodded. He looked up at her, confused. Natasha honestly wasn't surprised. Heck, she was rather confused as well. But then again, it was hard to explain Pepper away. "Why?"

"She felt bad for everything that's been happening to you. And something that you used to mention when you were older was that you always wanted a pet. So, she adopted a cat," Natasha explained. She wiggled the phone in front of his face. "If you return to the tower, you could go see it."

"But..." Clint started. Natasha clicked the phone into stand-by and kneeled down to be closer to Clint's height. Clint shuddered and backed a step away. Natasha frowned but didn't stop him. She waited until the boy focused on her again.

"We'll answer whatever questions you have with complete honesty. Whatever you want to know, we'll say. And if we have any video evidence, we'll show you. Promise," Natasha swore. Clint sighed and waited a minute in thought before nodding, agreeing to go back to the tower.

* * *

It didn't take long for Natasha to bring Clint back to the Tower. She pretty much took a direct route there. Clint had thought he ran further than he actually did. But then again, he kept taking random twists and turns when he was running in an effort to get lost, so maybe he actually just kept running in circles around the tower. Every now and then he kept looking back the way they came as if checking to see if the street had shrunk or something, like Natasha had this magic power that was secret. Natasha just silently chuckled at the boy as she walked along.

Upon arriving at the tower, Clint quickly noted a heaviness that appeared on his chest. As the elevator went up and up, the heaviness grew worse and worse. He didn't think anything of it at first; all he cared about was just going to see the others. Heck, he really wanted to see the kitten. In the pictures it had looked really cute and fun. He almost couldn't wait to play with it.

Everyone was gathered in the communal living room, almost as if Natasha had sent a message telling them that they were arriving beforehand. It wasn't true of course. Just so happened that they all wanted to play with the new arrival to the tower. Thankfully they didn't look to see that Clint and Natasha had arrived. They were too focused on the little black fur ball. The kitten was playing around with a little toy feather on a string that Thor was bouncing up and down. Clint noticed right away that his eyes were a little itchy and rubbed them. They even watered a bit, but he just rubbed at them and watched the older Avengers (and Pepper) play with the little fur ball.

"Fetch it, you little mighty beast. Ah, yes, you shall be a masterful hunter when you grow," Thor boasted with a laugh as the kitten pounced back and forth trying it's hardest to catch the feather.

"I'm not sure we want a masterful hunter, Thor," Pepper chuckled as the kitten took a mighty jump again and missed, its claws extended and landing right onto Steve's lap. The solider winched and laughed as he gently pulled the kitten off.

"Ow, try and watch were you land, little one," Steve joked as he released the kitten back. Thor tried again but again the kitten jumped back onto Steve's lap. The solider laughed and glanced over at Thor as the thunderer chuckled. Then he waved the feather again, the kitten reaching for it from Steve's grasp.

"What do we want the kitten for, Pep?" Tony wondered as he reached over to pet the little fluff ball. The kitten saw the hand and spun around in Steve's grip to reach one of its paws out and scratch Tony's hand as it hissed at the genius. "OW! What the fuck!?"

"Tony! You scared the poor thing," Pepper snapped. Tony glanced at her, stunned.

"I was trying to pet it!" Tony snipped, cradling his hand as if the kitten had broken it.

"I bet he didn't even break your skin," Bruce soothed, reaching for the billionaire's hand to get a look at the wound. Tony showed the 'slice' which did indeed not even bleed. The genius had gotten worse from working in the lab.

"A mighty beast, indeed," Thor called, gathering the kitten from Steve as the soldier snorted. The kitten purred as Thor began to rub the kitten's furry body against his face. "Yes, you are."

The scene was interrupted when Clint suddenly let out a huge sneeze. Everyone quickly turned to look at him. Natasha frowned and kneeled down to look at him. He had looked perfectly healthy when outside. Why was he sneezing now? Clint rubbed at his face, making it hard for the spy to get a good look at him.

"Wow, bless you," Tony muttered, after a second. Clint nodded, stunned at that as he had no warning from needing to sneeze beforehand. Suddenly, he did it again. This time Tony jumped to his feet. He messed up one too many times, there was no way he was going to mess up again. And there was no way he was going to ever trust S.H.I.E.L.D doctors again either. "Peps, get those docs on call."

"You think this is the serum again?" Pepper wondered, sitting up straighter. Natasha moved closer to look over Clint. The poor boy sneezed again and moaned. She grabbed his face to get a look.

"His eyes are getting red and blotchy," the spy noted. Bruce looked to the kitten. The doc had heard of things like this before. But never coming on this fast. It was unbelievable. But then again, their life was unbelievable.

"He's allergic! Thor, get that cat outside! We need to get him to the clinic now, he might need something fast," Bruce ordered, getting to his feet before freezing as Clint sneezed again. He shook his head. They needed to move, now. "Natasha, you are the only one who didn't touch the cat. You have to do it. The rest of us need to shower and change. For all we know, we may need to sanitize this floor before Clint can return to it!"

"Jesus, you serious?" Tony inquired as Thor rushed to the balcony with the kitten in his hands. Steve and Pepper backed away, not wanting any fur that had fallen off the kitten and onto their clothes to bother Clint, but he was still sneezing away. Natasha grabbed the boy's hand and began pulling him back and dragging him toward the elevator. Clint moaned, wanting to see the kitten even as another sneeze moved his body in the direction that Natasha pulled him in.

"The medical staff has been alerted and is waiting. And as soon as the floor is clear, the cleaning crew is ready to clean. I have also taken the liberty to alert the adoption agency to the incident and that Thor shall be bringing the kitten back," JARVIS informed. Thor nodded, calling Mjonlir to him, which had been sitting safely next to the couch. Swinging it around and around, the thunderer took off with the kitten meowing in protest.

"Thank you JARVIS," Steve said as Natasha and Clint slipped into the elevator.

* * *

**4116 words this chapter.**

**Everything is going good at home. Waiting on my husband's surgery. Waiting on Toddler Clint to start talking with actual words. And waiting on the months to pass. Honestly, I can't wait till Christmas. I got a big surprise for my family if everything continues on as planned. Don't worry, I'll tell you all about it after the fact. Other than that, everyone is fine.**

**Review Responses:**

**Favorites: ** Thunderandshadowcats, xdipperx

**Followers:** Thunderandshadowcats, Trisscar95, xdipperx

**Review Responses:**

_Niom Lamboise _\- Amanda died. Lisa... Well, we don't know yet. *hint hint*

_sammygirl1963_ \- I feel bad now. I totally skip over all the a**kicking for most of the group. As for Jazuat, yeah. He totally deserved to be beat up but sadly, he gets a more happy ending. Thor upholds his promise. As for Amanda, I hope everyone is pleased with her ending. lol.

_amy. d .fuller .9 _\- If you are one of the guests, I just replied separate in case it wasn't actually you. As mentioned to 'Guest #2', Amanda Logi is based off a character in the _Saw_ films. I'm glad Karen moved down a spot. You know, I thought about having Hulk smash everything after Clint got rescued but I felt the need to have Bruce watching over Clint instead. As for aging again, sadly. No more. This story is almost over and I'm working hard on its sequel. I can't wait for you all to read the end. My husband is going into surgery on the 30th of this month. Thanks for the prayers. Means a lot. And I will, thanks.

_Guest #1 _\- Hahaha. I'm so glad that everyone is moving most hated characters around. As for you last line, that's true. I am unpredictable. Too bad I didn't have it be someone meant to hurt Clint.

_marsupeler _\- Tee hee. Here's your answer.

_Guest #2 _\- Yeah, I have issues with spelling. Thanks for that. When I have time, I'll go back and fix that. As for the 'ale' and 'ails', thanks. I did not know that. Amanda Logi came about because I was re-watching all the _Saw _films while typing those scenes. I just saw her and was 'that. I want that'. lol.

_vitik2326 _\- lol.


	31. Chapter 31

"You're really lucky that Mr. Stark has us on staff," one of the nurses mentioned, cleaning up her station as Clint relaxed into the rather comfortable bed. He couldn't believe that this was a medical area. Never before had he felt something this comfy. It reminded him of a dream he had when he was a little baby. When he used to live in a tower with... Wait a minute... Clint frowned as he glanced at Natasha. Now he had even more questions. Ones that he had to wait until the nurse left for answers. "I've never seen such a strong reaction to a cat. And so quickly."

"Do you think it's dangerous for him to be upstairs right now?" Natasha asked. The nurse sighed and turned around to look back at the Widow. She honestly had no idea what to say. The nurse shrugged, unsure. She had never seen something like this before. Never seen a grown man turned into a kid, never seen an allergic reaction like this. Could it have been amplified cause of the serum or did Clint always suffer strong reactions?

"With a reaction as strong as his, I'd give it a day or two. And clean that floor each day to make sure that you got every spot. Then when he is brought in there, if there is any reaction whatsoever... I mean, the slightest sniffle, bring him back down here for help," the nurse stated just as the door burst open and Tony came in. He looked frantic. Natasha and Clint could see that he was in different clothes. His hair was still dripping wet from his shower.

"Is he okay? What happened!?" the genius cried, sounding almost close to a panic.

"He's fine Mister Stark. Just, no more cats in the tower," the nurse told him. Tony sighed deeply and nodded. Judging by his frantic face, no one was really certain if Tony actually understood the words that had been spoken to him. He only had eyes for Clint.

"Yeah, totally. No more cats, deal," Tony replied a little too quickly. The nurse frowned and glanced at Natasha. It was almost as if the nurse could tell that Tony wasn't really paying attention. Which in actuality, Tony wasn't paying attention to the nurse. He was too focused on Clint. "Hey buddy, how you doing?"

"I'm fine now," Clint admitted. Tony sighed deeply.

"Jeez, bud. Don't do that to me. You had me worried," Tony moaned. Natasha snorted, making Tony glance over at her. Her response was to simply glare at him. Seeing it, he winced before looking back at Clint, who hadn't noticed the whole interaction. "You had us all worried."

"Sorry," Clint whispered, tucking himself deeper into the bed that he was resting on. Natasha and Tony frowned as they traded looks. That wasn't what they expected from him. Tony moved forward and was stunned to see Clint wince. Pausing, Tony looked back to Natasha, almost asking her if she had ever seen Clint act like this. She said nothing.

"Hey, nothing to be sorry for. Bet you had no idea you were allergic to cats," Tony joked, leaning in closer to try and get a look at the boy's face. Clint shifted away and nodded but the adults could tell that that wasn't everything. Something else was bothering him. Natasha stepped forward, curious.

"Are you apologizing for trying to run?" she wondered. Clint sharply looked up at her, shock covering his expression. Natasha almost stepped back in surprise at the action.

"I wasn't trying to run away!" Clint nearly shouted at her. Natasha raised an eyebrow, daring him to prove her wrong. Clint jerked his body forward before realizing he had raised his voice. In embarrassment, he backed down and curled back up into the bed. "I... I needed to think and... Well, I... I couldn't do it here."

"New York is dangerous. You could have been mugged or hurt or... Kidnapped again," Tony trailed on, moving away from Clint in distress. Clint winced at every word as if the genius was slapping him. Natasha growled and grabbed Tony's arm as he began to walk past her in his rant. When the billionaire turned to her, she nodded her head towards Clint. The boy had turned to focus on the floor as tears formed in his eyes. Tony groaned.

In Iowa, Clint never had to worry about those types of things. It was okay for him to go run off if he needed too. Then again, the poor boy also never had anyone care about it. Or come after him to make sure he actually was alright. Clint wasn't sure if it scared him more or it pleased him to know that they did care.

"Clint," Natasha began to say in warning. Clint slowly looked up at her, his hearing distantly catching the machine that was still checking his pulse and heart rate. It was beeping frantically as he was basically on the verge of a panic attack. Staring at the red headed spy, the beeping began to slow back down as she gave him a soft, concerned look. "We really do mean well for you."

Clint chuckled lightly at her words before nodding. He clearly understood that. It was obvious that these people cared a great deal for him. But Clint had never really had someone in his life that cared this much. And now, he had no idea what to do about it.

"I... I get that."

* * *

Natasha and Tony were told to leave not long after that so Clint could rest. Worried for Clint's safety, Natasha stayed in a chair out in the hall so she could keep an eye on Clint. Meanwhile, Tony got the same speech from the doctor that Natasha had earlier and basically balked at the idea of leading Clint back up into the room that could potentially hide the dangerous 'cat fur'. So, he took off for his lab.

By that afternoon, Tony called everyone into a meeting room on one of the Stark Industries floors. It was one of the few rooms left now that was large enough to hold everyone in it at once for a sit down gathering. Clint had just been released from the medical wing a few minutes prior and so he had Natasha and Pepper right on his heels upon entering. Bruce, Steve and Thor were a little slower on gathering as they had gotten into other projects.

"What's going on?" Steve asked as soon as he arrived. Tony stood at the head of the meeting table. Behind him, JARVIS had already pulled up the blueprints for the living room floor that the poor kitten had been on.

"I'm calling a meeting. Is that a problem?" Tony asked. Steve frowned before shaking his head no and sitting down in a sit farthest from the billionaire. Tony didn't seem to mind. Clint glanced over at Thor.

"What happened to the kitten? Did you return it to the shelter?" the boy wondered, feeling bad for the poor creature. Thor smiled softly.

"Bagheera has been brought to a good home filled with many young humans to play with. He shall be well cared for," Thor beamed. Clint nodded, a smile tugging at his lips. He was glad that the little kitten had been adopted by another family. To be honest, he was worried for the little guy. It wasn't the poor kitten's fault that he was allergic. The little guy shouldn't have to suffer.

"Bagheera? Really?" Tony groaned. Thor nodded.

"Indeed, I told the young female that that was truly an honorable name," Thor declared. Tony rolled his eyes and scanned the faces of the others as if to see that they agreed with this. No one seemed bothered that the kitten had been named after a Disney character.

"Okay fine..." Tony grumbled, turning to his display.

"Tony, what are we doing here?" Pepper called, figuring it was just best to move on now. Tony turned back with a smile.

"Well, I'm remodeling the communal floor." Needless to say, that brought a lot of surprised protests from the others. Everyone talked over each other except for Clint and Tony. Tony stood there, stunned by the protests of his fellow Avengers. He had thought this was a great idea. Meanwhile, Clint just stared, shocked. What was Tony thinking? "Guys! Guys! Guys! I thought this was a good idea. I mean, the docs said that the floor would be out of use for a while anyways while it was cleaned for Clint's allergy. So, I figured this was the best time to do a remodel."

"You're remodeling the whole floor just because I ended up being allergic to a cat?" Clint questioned. The boy looked panicked, near terrified about the prospect of the genius doing something like that. Tony waved a hand toward the boy in a dismissal gesture. He knew from before that Clint never liked big extravagant gifts like this. The less of an issue he made about the whole thing, the less Clint would be freaked out.

"We needed it done anyways. The old way didn't really work," Tony told the boy, completely ignoring the way that Clint seemed to be freaking out. Natasha did notice and leaned down to soothe the boy. She sent a glare to Tony but she could tell that he was trying to play it off as nothing. Steve frowned.

"It seemed to work fin-" the captain began to protest. Tony cut him off with a dark glare. Steve stiffened in surprise before glancing at the others. What had he said to upset Tony?

"The old way didn't work," Tony stressed, finally noticing that Clint was freaking out. His eyes sharply cut to Clint, making the others look over as well. Natasha was working hard to soothe Clint but the boy just looked overwhelmed. A gesture of caring this 'grand' was too much for him. "I've been thinking about this for a while and just couldn't find the time to do it."

"Tony, what are you doing to the floor?" Pepper snipped, trying to get this whole thing over with in an effort to calm the boy. The faster this meeting was, the faster Clint could calm down. Tony nodded and snapped his fingers, making JARVIS switch the blueprints to a new design. For a moment, the group just stared at the design. There were a lot of new things to focus on. Pepper was quick to notice something rather interesting. "Is that a... Reading nook?"

"Yup. I made a lot of improvements," Tony claimed, pleased with himself. Bruce stood and looked over the plans before glancing back at Steve. On the outside of the design, Tony had left the numbers for the size of the place. Mentally checking these new numbers with the old numbers, Bruce could tell that Tony had adjusted more than the living room area.

"Well, the old kitchen did get a bit crowded when we all tried to make meals. This open space looks really nice," Bruce pointed out. Indeed the kitchen was now focused on the east wall of the room. The fridge was basically the starting point of it all and was beside a row of cabinets that held the plates, bowls, cups and other utensils. The next area was a dishwasher with another set of cabinets that held the cooking ingredients followed by multiple stoves and ovens and even microwaves that stopped at the next wall. Right in the middle of it all, almost splitting the room was an island that could rise and fall as needed. It was also built in with more cabinets that held the dishware needed for cooking.

"While I have not spent much time here, I have indeed noticed a lack of the 'Personal Space'," Thor declared, getting up to look at an area off to the northwest wall. It looked like an area that was built entirely out of pillows and stuffed animals. Something that Thor had showed a tendency to liking. One was almost reminded of ancient throne rooms in movies where the King of wherever was surrounded by beauties and fed grapes as he lounged about.

"Well, that reading nook does look really comfy," Pepper mentioned, after getting her own close look. All along the south wall was the row of windows that had been there before. But now, on either side of the doorway out to the 'balcony' were two different nooks. One was set with basically a deep row of seats and pillows, similar to the area that Thor had focused on but also different. It was surrounded by windows and clear glass. Basically it looked like a window box that jutted out of the tower. The only way one could tell it was a reading nook was because right beside it, where the wall started again, was a huge row of shelves that showed images of book spines that the group may or may not own. Steve sighed deeply.

"Fine. The old way didn't work," he grumped.

"So... All this was just an excuse?" Clint mumbled after the others seemed to agree to the new design. Natasha was still by his side, watching over him but the boy could tell that she wanted to look at the design as well. She leaned in closer to him after he spoke.

"It's best not to question him," she whispered. Behind them, Steve stood and headed over. Clint sighed now, releasing the tension he had been feeling since hearing about this whole remodel. He glanced up at the design. Right next to Thor's little pillow area was an area that Tony had designated for the boy. It looked almost like a rock wall or some type of large cat tower as it was basically hand holds and large flat spaces that one could curl up into. When Pepper pointed it out to Tony and questioned it, the genius said he remembered that adult Clint seemed to enjoy hanging out in high places.

"I wish I could remember you guys. You all seem like really good friends," the boy suddenly muttered before also getting up to check out the new design. Natasha stiffened at the words and just watched as Clint began questioning Tony on the whole idea. Tony seemed really pleased that even at four years old, Clint seemed interested in the area that the billionaire designed. She didn't even notice when Steve turned back to check on her.

"You seem more comfortable with him at this age," Steve said. Natasha glanced over at the solider with a surprised look before slowly nodding. It was true that now that Clint was older it was a bit easier to be around him. Heck, she already noted a few traits that Clint did now that crossed over into his adult form. Steve placed a hand on her shoulder. "Do you know what changed?"

"I... I don't think anything really did," Natasha stuttered. Steve leveled a glance at her that showed he didn't really believe her. She was so focused on Clint that at first she didn't notice the look but when she did, she laughed at the soldier. "You can't pull that off."

"Natasha," Steve warned but it was useless. Natasha, still chuckling, waved him off. There was no way that she was going to listen.

"I'm gonna go check out that weapon cleaning area. Sounds cool, as long as Tony didn't fuck it up," Natasha told the captain before walking off. Steve grabbed her arm, forcing her to turn back to look at him. His gaze was hardened now.

"I'm not meaning anything bad. I'm glad that you feel safer. I just want to make sure you're really okay," Steve replied. Natasha snorted and gently slipped her hand away from him. She paused before sighing.

"I know."

With that she walked away from him. Steve sighed deeply. Slowly, he stood and moved over to look at the 'new' communal floor with the others. He had noticed another nook on the other side of the door to the outside. Something about it seemed strange and he wanted to take this moment to look it over. Tony was thankfully currently distracted with the others giving him more ideas on what to fix or change about the whole room. But once the genius noticed Steve coming over, he waved them off and joined Steve in time to hear the shock statement.

"You made me an art nook?" Steve whispered, his voice so soft that the solider was surprised anyone heard him. Never mind that Tony had heard it. The genius snorted.

"I made areas for everyone. The reading nook keeps Pep, Brucie and Nattie happy. The cat tower area will really please Clint once we fix him up. Thor's got that pillow nest area with his own personal TV, computer and stuff. Why he wanted a pillow nest, I refused to ask. I also made that weapon cleaning area, the small science lab and huge kitchen," Tony pointed out. Steve nodded. He had seen all that before. "Do you not like it?"

"No! I like it! I was... Just surprised," Steve called. Tony nodded.

"Well, Pepper mentioned that you like to buy a lot of art supplies and I... I kind of remembered my dad saying you were an amazing artist. Claimed that that's what you should have been if the war never happened," Tony claimed, mumbling over the last few lines. Steve turned to face the genius, stunned. They never really talked about Howard. It was just mutually agreed by both of them that it was too hard to speak of. Yet here Tony was, using information that was once mentioned by Howard, to make an amazing art nook. Steve was almost too lost in his own mind to realize the implications of this. Slowly, he looked back to the design.

"I... I knew I never told you... And... I didn't think anyone else drew or painted or..." Steve mumbled. Tony snorted.

"Well, Bruce and I draw up specs but nothing like actual pictures or anything. Nothing good enough for an art museum," Tony laughed. Steve shook his head and turned back to look at Tony. The solider couldn't see how uncomfortable Tony was getting with this conversation.

"Mine aren't either," Steve admonished. Tony snorted.

"Yeah, like that monkey in the Captain America outfit?" the genius asked. Steve frowned, confused. He certainly never mentioned that particular drawing. Tony shrugged. "I may have visited that museum in DC once or twice."

"I didn't realize they had some of my drawings," Steve moaned, looking away from the genius. Tony shrugged again. Before he could get any deeper into the conversation though, Bruce suddenly pointed out something very important.

"Hey Tony," Bruce called. Tony and Steve turned to the doctor. "With all this construction on the communal floor, where will we hang out?"

* * *

It ended up being decided that they more than likely wouldn't all hang out as a team unless they all reconvened in the theater room for a movie. At first everyone wasn't sure what to make of this but it seemed to work out in the end. Bruce claimed that he wanted to spend some time in his lab. There was something about AIM taking Clint that made Bruce think that he had an idea on how to fix the poor archer. Thor wished to go collect his 'Lady Jane' and have her come visit the rest of the Avengers seeing as things had mostly calmed down. Still concerned about AIM, Steve agreed to go with the thunderer in case something happened. As much as Pepper wanted to be around, she actually had to go back to Stark Industries and continue work as the CEO. She was only thankfully that it wasn't too far away.

That left Tony and Natasha on Clint watching duty. And Tony swore he'd take this more seriously than when Clint was six years old. Being a baby, Clint hadn't been able to get into much trouble and Tony didn't have to worry. But as already shown, at four, Clint could be a danger to himself and those around him. It was around now that the genius was thankful for all the items that OCFS had forced them to buy.

"You know, I do know how to get around a baby gate," Clint commented less than five minutes into Tony trying to set up a baby gate outside of the archer's door. Natasha and Clint both stood inside the boy's room as they watched the genius trying to figure out how to get the pressure points to line up properly.

"Yeah well, it will at least slow you down," Tony grunted as the gate swung upon and wacked him on the head. Natasha snorted.

"Oh really? And if I just jump it, leaving it closed for whoever is chasing me?" Clint countered. Tony snarled as he tried to tighten a bolt that he thought was needed only to find out seconds later that it was a pointless item.

"It's too tall," Tony groaned. Clint raised an eyebrow at that before glancing to Natasha. She smirked and nodded at the boy, basically giving him permission to do a dangerous stunt. Clint rushed Tony before jumping up, kicking off the wall next to the door, slipping just over Tony's head and pushing off the other side of the door frame to land gently in the hall. Tony stopped working as he looked up at the boy in shock.

"Still think I can't get around a baby gate?" Clint asked as the gate, which still hadn't been properly hooked up, fell over into the hall. Tony turned to pout at Natasha.

"What do you want me to do? He learned that on his own," Natasha told the genius. Tony moaned before getting to his feet and gently kicking the remnants of the baby gate.

"This stuff is useless," the genius whined.

"It worked when he was a baby," Natasha pointed out. Clint grimaced.

"I was a baby here?" the boy wondered. Natasha looked up at him before nodding.

"Only a few months old by the doctor's estimations. You had a lot of your adult memories back then but couldn't really communicate well like right now," Natasha told the boy.

"Hey, we can't talk about this," Tony snarled to the red head as he got a flashback of six year old Clint going into seizures any time someone mentioned his condition. Natasha leveled a gaze on the genius that basically told him that she dared him to stop her. Tony winced before looking to Clint. The boy looked back, confused. Well, he seemed healthy enough. No warning signs. Slowly, Tony faced Natasha. "Anything happens to him, I blame you."

"Fine. But I promised him I would answer all his questions. He's been very patient," Natasha mentioned. Tony grimaced as if the spy had slapped him.

"Actually... I think I got it all," Clint called from the hall. Tony and Natasha looked to him. "I mean. I don't have any questions right now. Everything's been pretty much answered just by watching you guys."

"So, no more running?" Natasha inquired. Clint smirked lightly at her wording before nodding.

"No more running," he agreed. Seconds later a huge yawn overtook the four year old. Natasha and Tony stared at Clint in shock as the boy blinked rapidly as if trying to figure out if it was him who actually yawned.

"Tired?" Tony smartly retorted. Clint frowned before shrugging.

"You didn't exactly rest in the medical wing," Natasha reminded, making the boy look as if he had been getting yelled at. Natasha rolled her eyes. "I'm not yelling at you. Just stating that it's understandable. The doctors did say you needed rest and after everything you've been through, resting might be what you need now."

"But... I was kind-a hoping we could do something," Clint moaned. Natasha raised an eyebrow as Tony frowned.

"What?" the genius asked. Clint smiled before bounding into the room to find something he had spotted only minutes before. Natasha and Tony silently watched him as he grabbed a photo that his six year old self had set up as a reminder of what had transpired with him. When Clint came back, he handed it over to Tony. The picture was of adult Clint, dressed to the nines in S.H.I.E.L.D gear, aiming his bow off at a distant opponent. Tony remembered this shot clearly. He had actually been the one to take it. Pepper had complained that none of the Avengers had photos of themselves so Tony, while on a mission, started just snapping photos of everyone every time he flew by.

"I want to learn how to do that," Clint told them. Tony almost dropped the photo.

"What?" he choked out. Natasha snorted.

"I think you need to be a bit older," she chided. Clint frowned.

"Technically, I'm 30. Isn't that old enough?" he grunted. Natasha chuckled lightly.

"You didn't actually learn until you were 11. Besides, none of us really know how to shoot," the spy declared. Clint frowned.

"So, I can't?"

"Sorry kiddo. No can do. Sides, I think OCFS might really have something bad to say about teaching you how to shoot," Tony mentioned, grimacing at the reminder of events that seemed so long ago. Clint let out a low moan.

"Ah, come on. Please," he whined.

"Clint, we can't," Natasha warned. Clint let out a grunt of anger before stomping his foot down. Natasha and Tony looked at the boy, surprised.

"You promised that you'd tell me everything I wanted to know. I want to know how to use a bow and arrow!" Clint snapped. Natasha glanced at Tony. She had no idea what to do now. Tony traded her look. He had never dealt with this from six year old Clint. Before either could respond though, another yawn over took the boy. Now Natasha knew what to do.

"You know what. Why don't you rest up for the night and we'll talk again in the morning. Maybe by then Thor will be back. I think he mentioned once that he used to shoot," Natasha suggested. Clint frowned. Learning to shoot from Thor? Sounded interesting.

"Okay, deal," Clint agreed before turning to head toward the bedroom he had spied earlier. Natasha sighed deeply, relieved that that fight was over with. Tony also sighed and nodded his head when Natasha looked over to him.

"So, think Thor will actually teach him?" Tony whispered, keeping his voice down in case Clint was trying to spy on them. Natasha snorted.

"There is no way I'm letting him learn how to use his bow and arrow this early," Natasha countered. "Pepper told me all about the OCFS incident. We are not going to have that happen again."

"Oh... Okay, good," Tony agreed. Slowly Clint came back out of the bedroom. He looked a bit sheepish. "Something wrong?"

"Uh... The clothes are too big," Clint mumbled. Natasha looked to Tony.

"We didn't get him any clothes..." she silently told the genius. He looked at her horrified.

"No... Nope, I ain't shopping for him again! Did it once. Never again," Tony declared. Natasha grimaced. Maybe she could do that.

"We'll go shopping tomorrow. I think Tony has some of his old kid clothes downstairs. I'll go get you another outfit for now," she told the boy before rushing off. Clint glanced at Tony.

"Are these your clothes?" he asked, reaching for the outfit that he had been stuck in since turning four. Tony winced, realizing they never had actually gotten the boy a change of clothes this whole time. Why hadn't they thought about that? Slowly the genius nodded. "Oh... Thanks."

"No problem," Tony muttered as Clint let out another huge yawn. The genius gave him a soft smile. "Why don't you strip and go lie down for now? Natasha will be back in a few minutes."

Clint nodded and headed back into the bedroom. Tony turned back to the mess of the baby gate at the doorway. How Natasha had gotten past it all without tripping or hurting herself, Tony didn't know. But with a deep sigh, he got to work on packing it all up. As soon as he finished, Natasha reappeared.

"Oh good, I was gonna mention that," she said before heading into the room. Tony nodded. He figured as much. Moving the now packed up gate aside, Tony started to leave only to hear a click behind him. Turning back, he watched as Natasha silently tip toed out of Clint's bedroom. He raised an eyebrow at her. She put a finger to her lips to keep him silent before whispering. "He's already asleep."

* * *

**4810 words this chapter. Can anyone guess what the kitten is named after? I thought it was funny. My husband just shook his head when I told him. *shrug* Oh well, can't please everyone. lol**

**Toddler Clint has been sick for the past two days. Yesterday he was running a fever of 100.8 degrees. His daycare only allows kids under 100.3 to be allowed in the place, so we stayed home with him. Then he had to be 24 hours fever/illness free. Welp, that didn't last. Woke up and no fever but after one 9 oz cup of water, he vomited the whole thing up after four attempts. Thankfully, after lunch he was able to hold down both food and water and seemed much better. Took a small nap on daddy and seemed okay afterwards. Just cranky. In fact, right now he's supposed to be in bed and asleep, instead he is screaming at the camera as if he is in distress but we can clearly see he is fine and when we stand outside his door, he laughs and gets happy. So, he's fine, just being stubborn, cranky kid.**

**My husband and I have both been waking up lately with major stomach aches. At least my husband is used to it enough that he can still eat normal foods but I can't. Heck, there are some foods that I used to eat that if I even think about, I almost vomit. Nasty and makes it really hard to plan meals. Been trying to still eat but usually end up missing dinner and sometimes lunch. But I always get breakfast in.**

**Any who, Review Responses:**

**Favorites: ** *no one*

**Followers:** *nada*

**Review Responses:**

_Niom Lamboise _\- I loved that he has a dog in the comics. And personally, my family owns two cats and my husband is partially allergic to them. So I just thought of what it would be like if Clint was allergic to them. I feel bad for the poor cat, but I send him away to a good home.

_sammygirl1963_ \- I'm sorry that you are highly allergic to cats as well. As I told _Niom Lamboise_, my husband is only slightly allergic to them. My brother and sister-in-law and brother-in-law are all allergic to cats but their allergies take a minimum of twenty minutes to act up when they come over. I had feared that Clint's reaction would be too extreme and no one would believe it. As for Amanda, yup. She got what she deserved. Couldn't handle what she dished out to others. With Natasha and Clint, of course it had to be her that found him. And I needed Clint to get some space after everything that had happened. In nearly every comic and fanfic that I've ever read, Clint has major trust issues. Slowly, they'll work with him on it.

_amy. d .fuller .9 _\- The Saw films are actually good... If you like torture, blood, and horror. The story through it all is fascinating as well. Very well written. Glad that you love the way I'm writing the Avengers. I try my hardest to make them sound as realistic as possible considering I ain't as smart as some of them and certainly aren't as funny. I bounce all my jokes off my husband and he helps make them better. And I can't answer about Clint staying as 4. You'll have to wait and see. And trust me, I don't know if I'll ever introduce Kate Bishop. I don't like her. (expect in Young Avengers, that was okay). Sorry bout the chocolate. If it makes you feel better, I have none as well. Oh crap, Halloween is next week! Better go shopping! lol.

_autumnsfire _\- Sorry, no kitten for Clint. But I do make up for it later. Just wait. *wink wink*

_vitik2326 _\- Oh the stories the others have on him. So much blackmail. *evil laugh*

_m klindt_ \- Thank you for both comments.


	32. Chapter 32

Clint ended up sleeping through the entire next day. At first, Natasha and Tony worried about how much the kid was sleeping. But after reviewing what the four year old had gone through lately, Tony admitted he wasn't surprised. Ageing had usually tuckered him out before and considering the poor kid had been kidnapped, where he more than likely never slept, Clint needed the rest. So they let him sleep with only JARVIS to keep watch. Everyone else was so busy that they didn't notice.

The day after, Steve and Thor returned without the thunderer's 'precious Lady Jane'. Apparently Jane had just gotten a new job and didn't have the right to ask for time off yet. And considering she needed this job, she told Thor that it would be best if she stayed home. Steve mentioned that a woman named Darcy was all too willing to join them but Thor declined, saying that someone needed to help watch over Jane.

"It's getting close to the holidays, I don't see why Jane couldn't take the time off," Pepper mentioned when she heard about what had happened. Currently, everyone but Clint was gathered in the same meeting room that they had used when Tony announced his remodel. They were all enjoying a catered breakfast.

"Lady Jane insisted that her new place required her attention during these festive days. I am not even allowed to visit should I wish," Thor grumbled, feeling rather disappointed with his latest visit. He had been hoping that Jane could possibly help cure Clint.

"Speaking of holidays, are we planning anything this year for any of them?" Bruce wondered, wanting to get to a different subject.

"What do you mean?" Pepper asked. Bruce shrugged.

"Well, last year for Halloween, we had that huge Trick or Treat event in Central Park for all the underprivileged and orphaned kids. Are we going to do something like that again?" the doctor inquired.

"Stark Industries always sets up that event in Central Park. We've been running it for a couple of years now. So I know that's still going on. As the Avengers, I haven't set anything up and Director Fury hasn't mentioned anything to me about an event that required Tony," Pepper announced. Tony perked up. This totally hadn't happened to him in years, the ability to actually go out Trick or Treating? Could it be possible?

"So, we could go Trick or Treating?" Tony wondered, crossing his fingers behind his back. His gaze was filled with excited wonder as he looked about the other's faces. Bruce looked shocked. Steve seemed hopeful. Pepper was hiding back a chuckle at the genius. Thor had his confused face on as he tried to figure out what Trick or Treating was. While he had been at the Trick or Treat event the year before, the Avengers had been waiting in a stand for kids to come visit. Natasha's face had morphed into anger.

"Aren't you a bit old for that?" Natasha scoffed. Tony glared at her. There was no way that Miss Russian Spy was going to ruin this for him. Too many people had stopped him from enjoying himself on this holiday. And Natasha wasn't going to stop him now when he had a good enough excuse. Steve glanced over at Natasha with a slightly pleased expression on his face.

"Clint isn't," the solider pointed out before Tony could come up with a retort. For a moment, everyone let that settle. Natasha snorted, covering over Tony's bark of laughter, and looked back at the Captain, daring him to question her again. Steve gave her a sheepish smile.

"You actually plan on Trick or Treating with him?" she declared. Steve shrugged. He didn't see what the problem was with that. It actually sounded a little fun.

"I was never able to go myself. October weather was too cold and my asthma would act up whenever I went out at night," Steve mentioned, turning even more sheepish than before. Almost as if he thought that he was the only one who never celebrated in something that seemed so average for a normal childhood. He had no idea that none of the Avengers had ever gone Trick or Treating. Natasha turned to look across the room. Thor seemed to offer no hope, Tony and Steve both started it... So that left...

"Candy was unhealthy, so my dad revolted against the whole idea. He also kind-of thought that dressing up in a costume was a way of dumbing kids down," Bruce added when Natasha glanced at him for back up. The spy narrowed her gaze at him. Why wasn't she getting any help? Can they all be that stupid?

"Howard was always worried that the food would be poisoned or something... So I'd wake up every Halloween to my own personal bowl of candy at the foot of my bed. Never mind the high risk of kidnapping," Tony claimed, turning away from the others at the mention of his dad. For a moment, everyone stared. Tony never willingly talked about his father, yet here he was twice in less than a week, speaking of the long dead man. Wanting attention off his history, Tony quickly moved on. "And Clint's history doesn't really fit well with the whole idea either. Abusive dad, foster homes, orphanage, and the circus... I doubt he got the chance to have fun."

"So, are we seriously thinking about this?" Natasha wondered; her voice low as she reigned in her anger at this idea. No one caught her rather upset attitude. They just seemed excited about the idea of actually being able to go out themselves.

"Why not? Could be a lot of fun. I mean, we aren't kids or anything but with Clint, it won't be so strange," Bruce declared, sounding rather excited at the plan.

"I would enjoy the aspect of the Treat Tricking!" Thor boomed in delight, finally tossing in his two cents. Bruce smiled at the thunderer, along with everyone else, before turning to explain what they were all talking about. The rest of the conversation moved on without them.

"Would we all dress up?" Steve asked, sounding pleased. Tony pumped his fist in the air. He won! They were totally going!

"Yeah! But not in our Avengers gear. Halloween is only fun when you dress in something special," Tony told the solider. Steve smiled, he had hoped that someone else would mention that. Going out as Captain America wouldn't be as fun.

"Do any of you even have costumes to go in?" Pepper inquired, a small smile lighting her face at the idea of seeing that Avengers going Trick or Treating. Already she was making excuses as to why she and Tony weren't at the Stark Industries Trick or Treat party in Central Park. This was going to be too good to miss. Silence reigned over the group as they looked at each other and then stared at her. She sighed and rolled her eyes but not letting her smile slip off her face. "Shopping it is."

"Really?" Tony called, sounding hopeful at the idea. He had almost feared that he'd have to make an outfit. Pepper glared at him, getting the wrong idea. Tony's energy of excitement bubbled down a bit at her look.

"I'm coming too."

"Oh... Okay," Tony mumbled, trying to sound innocent as he had no idea what he said to upset her already. Was it the mention of shopping or his excitement about Halloween? What had he done? Natasha glanced at the clock projection on the wall. Apparently Bruce's earlier estimate of holidays coming soon was a bit off. They were on them now.

"But Halloween is tomorrow. Are we going to find costumes in time?" Natasha asked. Everyone glanced at her in surprise. No one had even noticed...

* * *

"How hard is it to find a costume?" Tony groaned, dramatically draping himself across a display of accessories for certain outfits. Steve snorted at the genius as he sorted through a section of 'Fireman' outfits in the hopes of finding one his size. Thor was beside him, also looking as the red and yellow coloring had attracted him over. Bruce smiled at Tony as he helped Clint search through a display of 'Youth' size 'Robin' outfits. So far, no luck. Natasha and Pepper stood off to the side, watching the group.

They had been shopping now for most of the day. Already they had gone through nearly every clothing store each one of them could think of in search of costumes to wear. While many stores did still have costumes, the Avengers had run into issues of other varieties. The outfits either ended up being the wrong sizes or something they'd never wear.

"What did you expect on the day before Halloween?" Bruce grumbled, moving away from helping Clint and searching through the 'Adult' section and on a rack of 'Batman' outfits in an attempt to find his size. So far, he wasn't having much luck. How they could have gone through so many stores and never once find something that appealed to even one of them was something Bruce would never be able to figure out. "I almost wish that we just dressed in our Avengers uniforms."

"Actually, that is an idea," Pepper started, having grown sick of Tony's constant complaining whenever he attempted to find a good outfit. Tony looked at CEO as if she had betrayed him before growing angry.

"No! I forbid it! I refuse to dress in my armor!" the genius cried, making a few other patrons glance their way. Thankfully the patrons were smart enough to just leave the group alone rather than ask for autographs and pictures. In fact, most of them seemed to be too busy to even realize who the group was.

"Not in your armor, but what about Thor's? Or Steve's?" Pepper calmly suggested, used to the billionaire blowing up like that. Tony stared at her for a moment as he tried to understand her plan. Steve stopped shifting through his rack to look over at the CEO. Thor frowned, not getting how Tony could dress in his armor. Bruce smirked as Clint shifted off to go find something. Natasha crossed her arms over her chest. This might actually be interesting now. "I mean, I know everyone tends to dress up as the Avengers now-a-days and you guys are sick of your own gear-"

"I CALL THOR!" Tony interrupted. Thor's frown deepened as he turned to the genius.

"But you cannot lift Mjolnir. You cannot be me unless Mjolnir deems you worthy," Thor mentioned. Tony waved a dismissing hand toward the thunderer. He wasn't in the mood to explain the concept of costumes to the poor guy again.

"Got like, four, Mjolnir's at home," Tony explained, not realizing that Thor wouldn't understand the idea of a toy replica. Hell, he could barely understand the idea of costumes and dressing up as someone else.

"I know of no such thing! How did you find another Mjolnir? Father only created one, and the dwarfs swore that no other can be created," Thor cried, outraged. It was in that moment that Clint came over with said replica. Almost as if the boy had known where this conversation was headed the entire time.

"Like this?" Clint wondered, a small smile playing on his face as Thor turned to it. The thunderer gaped at the boy in shock. Tony laughed and snatched it out of the four year old's hand.

"Look! I'm worthy! I shall hold all the powers of Thor and rule with my iron fist!" Tony loudly proclaimed. Thor looked gobsmacked. Bruce, getting what was going on, stole the toy from Tony and waved it about.

"I'm worthy as well! Shall we rule together?" Bruce laughed. Steve quickly interfered and snatched the toy away.

"Stop it. You're gonna destroy his mind," Steve snapped at them even as he noticed Pepper hiding a smile and a small chuckle behind her hand and Natasha smirking at the antics. With a sigh, he turned to Thor and waved the toy about. "It's just a toy. A fake, made out of plastic or something."

"Ah! I have heard of such things. I did not understand that Mjolnir had been made into one as well. Tis funny indeed," Thor beamed, laughingly taking the toy to inspect it. Steve shook his head. At least he got something. Steve was partially terrified that this conversation could have gone on all day.

"I'll take Steve's outfit," Bruce called, now that Thor was placated with the toy Mjolnir. Tony smiled, pleased with his own selection. Steve frowned, wondering why they were back on this subject and wondering why the doctor wanted to dress as him. Bruce noticed the look and shrugged. "Always did sound cool to hold the shield."

"I'm interested in that Iron Man armor," Natasha said, smirking as her eyes glinted with unhinged glee. Tony grimaced. Thankfully he still had the suit he made for Pepper a while back. Pepper had sworn never to wear it unless all the Avengers were down and Rhodey couldn't help. Even then she'd wear it in protest. Both had promised to keep it a secret for as long as possible. Natasha snorted at Tony's face. "You invited spies into your homes. You can't keep a secret like Rescue for very long."

"Rescue?" Steve wondered. Pepper sighed.

"Before the Avengers, Tony built an Iron Man suit for me. But I refuse to wear it," Pepper explained. Steve nodded, accepting that answer.

"Can I be Hulk?" Clint called. Everyone looked to him surprised. For some reason they just assumed that Clint would dress as Hawkeye or actually be able to find an outfit. Clint shrugged at their looks as he gave a meek smile. It wasn't shocking to him that they looked surprised. He had figured something like that would happen. "He's kind-a my favorite Avenger."

"Dude... What about Hawkeye?" Tony wondered, totally planning on using whatever response as blackmail for later. Clint shrugged. It wasn't something he ever really thought about. Just watching the videos that JARVIS played for him, Clint began to like Hulk. Nothing more.

"Well... What else can I do but shoot arrows and fight hand-to-hand? Nothing special really. Anyone could do that if they really tried. But changing forms? That's awesome!" Clint claimed. Natasha winced at the boy's words. Unknowingly he had just voiced the same issues his adult self was facing every day. Even Steve seemed to notice it and looked away. Bruce cringed.

"Not awesome till you try it," the doc muttered. Clint turned to Bruce with a frown. What did the doctor mean? The change looked so quick, how could it be bad? Pepper shook her head at the group. Wanting to move on now, she mentally figured out who was left in both choices and choosing.

"That leaves Clint and Natasha," Pepper pointed out as she focused on Steve and Thor. The duo traded looks as they each realized that one of them was more than likely going to have to dress in Natasha's skin tight leather outfit. Tony started cackling as he tried imaging the two men in the outfit. Bruce cracked a smile as well. Clint frowned, not getting why dressing as Natasha would be so bad. Natasha shook her head, trying to erase the images her mind had formed.

"I for one have played the woman too many times. Please, Steven, don't make me do it again," Thor pleaded. At his words, silence fell over the group. Tony's mouth dropped. Bruce's eyes widened. Clint cocked his head to the side. Natasha's face went blank (basically her default setting for when she didn't want anyone to know what she was feeling). Pepper held a hand over her mouth to cover her surprise and even Steve just stared. Thor shrugged at their looks. "What? You have met my brother. Why does such knowledge surprise you?"

The group stood there for another minute or two as they tried to register the idea of Thor as a woman. Steve was the first to shaking out of his shock. It took an extra moment for the Captain suddenly realized what that left him with. He grimaced before looking to Natasha. "Okay, Thor is Clint but... No offense Natasha, I can't do the Widow outfit."

"I dare you," Tony called before Natasha could soothe the Captain over by not completing their team. Steve looked at the genius with a confused face. Bruce groaned, seeing where this was going. Clint chuckled. Thor glanced about the store, wondering if there was any item in the store to help complete his newly defined outfit. Pepper shook her head. Natasha leaned back against a wall, wondering how this would turn out.

"What?" Steve asked.

"I dare you to dress in Black Widow's skin tight leotard for Halloween."

"No, Tony. I can't," Steve replied, his face already turning a familiar shade of pinkish red. The Captain's eyes flickered from Tony to Natasha as he tried to come up with some reason that would get Tony to back off but not offend Natasha.

"What, your 40s mentality can't handle it?" Tony prodded. Thor glanced back at the 'bickering' duo.

"In ancient times, many men were forced to dress as women as women were not allowed to act. I doubt anyone would even care, especially now-a-days," Bruce pointed out, trying to make the solider feel better about the choice. Steve's blush deepened.

"I do believe you would do honor our Widow if you took up her guise in this joyous event of collecting candy," Thor added. Steve's face was now as red as Natasha's hair and most of the Avengers couldn't hide the fact that they were laughing at the poor solider. Thankfully, Steve didn't seem to mind them laughing at him. He was just embarrassed at the idea of having to dress in a skin tight leotard.

"Guys, seriously," Steve moaned as he looked about them. Thor, Clint, Bruce, Tony, Natasha and... It was then that the super solider realized Pepper didn't have an outfit. That could be the solution. "Why don't I dress as a villain and Pepper can do Natasha?"

"Oh no. We have to do a complete team reversal here. And right now, you are leaving the team incomplete," Tony declared. Steve groaned as he turned to Pepper for help. She raised her hands in defense. No way was she going to get involved in this. Besides, she had an outfit waiting at the Tower.

"What's so wrong about dressing as Black Widow? I always thought the Captain America outfit was rather skin tight as well," Pepper mentioned, not really getting that she was now involving herself. Steve and Tony looked at her, surprised and horrified, respectively. Pepper shrugged. "What? Come on, you aren't a woman if you don't notice that."

"It's true," Natasha commented, making Steve look to her in shock. For a moment, no one thought that Steve could go any redder but he proved them wrong. Natasha smirked, mentally wondering how far the blush went down the soldier's body. Tony shook off his horror faster than Steve's embarrassment. He focused on the Captain.

"If you dress as Widow, I won't swear for a year," Tony pressed. Unbeknownst to Steve, Tony had been trying to cut back for Clint's sake. Steve looked back to the genius, the blush beginning to recede just a bit. For a moment, Steve stared at Tony.

"Bull," Steve countered. Tony frowned, mentally wishing that Steve had finished that statement but shook it off.

"I'll toss all my alcohol and not drink or swear for a year. In fact, I'll make JARVIS declare me alcohol free and I'll take whatever punishment you want if I break either of these," Tony suggested. Steve frowned. It sounded good in theory but the soldier didn't think that Tony could follow it.

"If you drink even one drop, no matter the situation or swear even once, you will lock your lab down and JARVIS will deny your access for two months. The only time you will be allowed in your lab is if the Iron Man suit needs fixing or S.H.I.E.L.D has something you must examine but even then you will be supervised," Steve proposed. Tony stared at the soldier. "All work for Stark Industries won't be effect for two months. I know because JARVIS already told me that you have enough stuff backed up for a year."

"That isn't good enough," Natasha declared. Steve waved his hand at her to let her add something else to the idea. "He must give up making fun of everyone. No more names, no more childish pranks, nothing. He must act like a normal adult."

"Harsh," Bruce whispered. Tony glanced over at the doctor quickly before thinking it all over. Technically, most of those things were things he had been trying to work on since Clint was turned into a kid. He wanted to prove that he could be a good parent and good parents didn't do half the things he did. "Why not make him swear to stay silent during sci-fi movies?"

"Oh, that's a good one," Steve laughed and suddenly Tony realized that they weren't taking this seriously. He frowned. This was actually him trying to be serious. At this point, Halloween would ruined if Steve didn't dress as Widow. And Tony really didn't want that to happen. This was going to be the best Halloween ever!

"You know what. I'll not drink, swear, call people names, and stop overworking myself in the lab if you dress as Black Widow for Halloween. If I break any of these rules I will go for two weeks wearing whatever outfit anyone wants to dress me in," Tony declared.

"Oh, I'm gonna have a lot of fun with that. Steve, you totally have to do it," Pepper mentioned. Steve glanced at the CEO before understanding that Tony was deadly serious. The genius was willing to do all of this just for one night of embarrassment. Steve frowned as he pondered this idea.

"Hell, I'll even let you add more rules throughout the year too! All you have to do is let JARVIS and me know. JARVIS will monitor me twenty four/seven so that I can't slip up, even outside of your sight," Tony included, beginning to sound desperate. Natasha frowned now, realizing what was going on. She glanced over Tony, Steve and Pepper. Were they all willing to do this?

"Tony, are you serious? Willing to suffer for a year just for Steve to go through something in one night?" she asked. Tony nodded.

"Steve, just take it before he keeps adding to it," Bruce decided, getting honestly frightened at the possible things that Tony would do. Steve sighed.

"Fine. I'll dress as Widow for one night," the soldier finally agreed. Tony shouted with glee and began dancing about.

"Pepper, who are you dressing as?" Clint softly questioned the CEO while Tony began parting about the idea of seeing Steve dressed as Natasha. The others shook their heads.

"I already had a costume at the tower. I'm gonna be dressed as Polly Perkins from a movie called _Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow_," Pepper claimed. Tony spun on her.

"Hill!" he cried. Pepper looked at him in shock.

"What?"

"We need our S.H.I.E.L.D handler! I want you dressed as Maria Hill," Tony demanded. Pepper's eyes narrowed.

"I've been planning this outfit for a year. I'm dressing as Polly Perkins."

"Maria Hill."

"Polly Perkins."

"Hill."

"Perkins."

"Hill."

"Perkins."

"Hill, god... I mean... Please?" Tony asked, catching himself from swearing.

"Does that count?" Natasha inquired.

"He only said 'god'. God isn't a swear, yet," Bruce mentioned.

"Did you just say 'Please?'" Pepper wondered. Tony nodded. "I think that counts as a swear, coming from you."

"Pepper Potts, will you _please_ do me the honor of ignoring your plans and dressing as our S.H.I.E.L.D handler?" Tony stressed. Pepper's eyes widened and even Natasha let her mouth drop in shock. Having been the only two in the group that hung out with Tony the most, they were the most shocked at hearing him say 'please' twice. Pepper looked everyone over; almost giving them a face that pretty much asked them to tell her she was dreaming. No one spoke. Finally, she looked back at Tony and with a deep sigh said...

"No."

"What? Oh come on! I said please, twice! Now three times!" Tony called as if just simply saying the word would make people agree with him. As he had never used it before, one might understand his reasoning behind it.

"Just cause you say please doesn't mean you'll always get your way," Pepper declared before turning and walking off. She was entirely thankful that shopping was now over. As easy an idea it had seemed, shopping with the Avengers was horrible. Tony pouted.

"It's actually better for S.H.I.E.L.D and for Hill if Pepper doesn't dress as her. Sorry Tony," Natasha added before following after the CEO, Clint hot on her heels. Bruce shrugged and turned to follow as well. Thor happily plodded after them. Steve looked to Tony.

"At least you got one person to dress as something they didn't want."

* * *

**4223 words. Kinda wanted to have the Halloween chapters posted before Halloween. At least we got some of it on Halloween! Which, HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Hope everyone has fun Trick or Treating!**

**So, my husband just has his gallbladder removed yesterday. He is doing okay just in a lot of pain. No complaining of nausea or dizziness but it could just be that the pain is overwhelming those sensations. He's been doing great and Toddler Clint has been very good about leaving him alone. Toddler Clint has been okay. Trying to use more words but we can't tell what the words are yet but he's babbling a lot more which is good.**

**On news on my end, I was going to wait until December to tell anyone but considering what is happening, I feel I should warn you all. In September I found out I was pregnant with my second child. Sadly, October 27th, I found out something is wrong with the pregnancy. I was estimated to be about 9 weeks pregnant but the embryo in me is the size of a 5 week pregnancy. So the doctor checked out my hormone levels to make sure they were increasing. Thankfully, they are but the levels are so high that he feels this will not be a normal pregnancy. This could mean I might miscarry, I might have a stillborn, the baby may have a birth defect, and so many other issues. So, as I go on, there may come a time when I suddenly don't post for whatever reason. I promise to return as soon as I can but please be patient. Who knows what could happen. I will keep everyone updated on everything. If there is no update at the end of my chapters, check my profile. I will try and keep that as up to date as possible.**

**Thank you all.**

**Review Responses:**

**Favorites: ** JaclynFrost, asikdar7679

**Followers:** JaclynFrost, asikdar7679

**Review Responses:**

_Niom Lamboise _\- Thank you.

_sammygirl1963_ \- Wow, sorry about your allergies but glad you have a way to control them. And as for Tony's room makeover, I had to deal with something like this when we learned my brother was suddenly allergic to cats. The cats had gotten locked in a room with a fluffy carpet and once they left, we noticed whenever my brother went in that room, he got sick again. So, my dad tore out the carpet and replaced it with hardwood. He even had to fix the ceilings and walls. And I loved that Tony had to do a different explanation for why so that Clint didn't get too upset. Thanks for your comments and the prayers.

_amy. d .fuller .9 _\- Yup, Clint's starting to act normal. He's doing good with the Avengers. As for his memory of the other ages, I press more on that issue later. And I love Tony. He is my second favorite Avenger. And after watching and read more on the Avengers I see how Tony acts like he doesn't pay attention and doesn't really care about anyone but himself when really he does. He's a really good person and I try and play on that a lot.


	33. Chapter 33

Halloween approached faster than anyone expected after they agreed to their new costumes. By the time they returned to the tower after shopping, it was already dinner time. No one was really sure they'd be able to finish their outfits in time. In fact, some of them had no idea where to even start. While others had easier outfits. Clint had been able to buy a green skin tight outfit that he claimed would work as Hulk but Tony was insulted by it.

Natasha's costume didn't need much help in setting up due to the fact that Rescue was designed for a woman's figure and she closely followed Pepper's own size. The duo often raided each other's closets when the needed something new. Tony called in a few fashion designers on the way back from shopping in effort to help with the others. Amazingly, Steve's outfit was apparently the easiest to set up and so he was forced to dress up for everyone before going to bed that night. He only agreed to make his bet with Tony a bit fairer.

Tony's costume was the most difficult as Thor stood over the process as much as the designer would allow. Any time the designer tried to take a short cut on the outfit, Thor would be there to tell them not too. Apparently doing a double stitch was the 'poor man's way of creating armor. At least Thor did agree that the designer wouldn't be able to actually forge the entire metal chest plate and allowed some sort of metallic looking stiff cloth instead. And the designer didn't have to use leather, which she was thankful for as she failed at leather working. But velvet looked close enough for Thor to work.

The next morning, Steve's outfit, Natasha's outfit, Tony's outfit and Clint's new outfit was finished. Thor's outfit was hard to get just right as Hawkeye's uniform looked completely strange on the blond thunderer. And Bruce was having issues with the rather tightness of Captain America's uniform. Apparently the designer who was working on it found Bruce's thin but stocky frame a wonderful sight and made the suit as skin tight as possible. Even tighter than Steve's actual suit. Bruce felt uncomfortable wearing it and forced the designer to fix it. By the time the designer was done, Tony demanded everyone dress up and arrive in the meeting room to see how it all looks.

* * *

"We look totally awesome!" Tony declared as soon as the designs were finished and everyone dressed up (a few hours before any of them planned to go out). He grabbed the red cape that billowed behind him and whipped it around his body to look almost like Dracula. "This is gonna be EPIC!"

"HULK Smash!" came a cry from Clint as he slammed together two plastic 'Hulk' fists. Bruce cringed as he hefted Steve's shield off the floor. He hated those toys but Clint had been excitedly slamming them together since they brought it back from the store the day before.

"Wow, a lot lighter than I expected," the doctor commented, shifting the shield around to try and visually analyze why. Steve never really let anyone touch it before. So this was actually the first time Bruce had ever really held it.

"Tony, I am connected to JARVIS with this thing, right?" Natasha asked, her voice filtering through the HUD making it sound mechanical. Tony glanced over at her and nodded. He wasn't worried about her doing anything. Before she got in the suit, Tony made sure to tell JARVIS not to allow her to do anything dangerous. JARVIS had agreed... Then again, Tony realized the AI had agreed rather quickly.

"Yeah. I couldn't dismantle the connections without having an issue reconnecting them later. Rescue is fully operational," Tony distractedly answered. Natasha lifted a hand and aimed toward the nearest wall. No one even had a second to stop her as there was a sudden whine of the hand repulsor charging and then firing. "What the-?"

"Awesome," Natasha added as the dust cleared. Tony looked over at her.

"What did you do that for?" the genius growled. Natasha looked back at him.

"Cause I felt like it," she replied.

"Are you trying to make me swear?" Tony grumbled as he made a note to have the construction crew come down and fix that wall. Natasha snorted, a sound that made Tony wince and also mentally make a note to fix.

"No. Why would I want to do that? It's not like I have the perfect little dress all picked out and waiting for when you screw up," Natasha sarcastically drawled. Tony snorted. He wasn't going to slip up this easily. No way in heck would he... Especially not this early.

"Natasha, stop. I won't follow the bet if you keep it up," Steve told the spy as he adjusted the leotard on his form. The designer had a fascinating idea to add a fake chest in the outfit that Steve was having a hard time getting used to. It was a detail that actually got added on after he wore it once and went to bed for the night.

"I do not understand the significance to having my quiver on my back. Archers in Asgard normally have them strapped to their waist for easier access," Thor declared as he fiddled with the normal set of arrows that filled Hawkeye's quiver. Natasha looked over.

"I don't know. It's just something Clint's always done. He said something once that the quiver made it hard to run when at his side, so he learned how to draw an arrow quickly from his back," Natasha mentioned, making the face plate lift so she could talk normally to everyone.

"Well, in the videos JARVIS shows me, I tend to do a lot of running, jumping and kicking off things. Having some bulky object on my leg would be an issue with a lot of moves," Clint pointed out, taking the gloves off to get a bottled water from ice bowl on the table. Thor frowned as he tried to remove one of the arrows. Clint shook his head and walked over, his hand doing a 'gimmie' sign. Thor groaned and removed the quiver before handing it over. Clint quickly strapped it on and pulled an arrow free. "Like that."

"Wait, you got that from watching old footage?" Tony wondered. Clint shrugged as he removed to quiver and handed it back to Thor.

"Learned a few other things as well," Clint muttered.

"Like what?" Tony asked, but before Clint could answer, the elevator dinged behind them allowing the only missing member of their group to enter. Everyone glanced up as she entered the room. Before anyone could comment on the outfit, Steve gasped.

"Peggy?" he wondered aloud. Pepper looked down at her outfit.

"No... Polly Perkins," she mumbled. "Did I mess it up?"

"No. Actually..." Tony called, moving closer to get a better look. Pepper didn't even look at him. Her eyes were focused on Steve and full of worry. In fact, only Tony and Steve had eyes on the CEO. Everyone else was watching Steve. "You look like you could be her twin or something."

"Peggy was the name of the woman you dated?" Bruce muttered to Steve. Steve frowned; he had forgotten that everyone had gotten his file. Of course someone would put two and two together. Slowly, he dropped out of his shock.

"We... We ah, didn't date... We had a date scheduled... She was just... Just a woman I knew," Steve said, puttering off by the end. With a deep sigh, Steve turned away from Pepper and headed toward the wall of windows on the other side of the room. Pepper grimaced. Slowly, she looked over the others. Natasha had moved to stand beside her and was distantly watching Steve with a frown. Clint stood by the table, looking at the ground as he wondered if this meant Trick or Treating was over.

"I should go change," she whispered. Natasha gently placed a gloved hand on her shoulder.

"No. Steve needs to get over this himself. He needs to handle this. As much as it's going to hurt," Natasha told her. Pepper frowned.

"This is supposed to be a happy night," Pepper whined. Natasha nodded her agreement but still held her hand on the other woman's shoulder. Tony shifted to stand beside the women as he tried to figure out how best to handle the situation. One the one hand, he wanted to support Pepper but on the other, he wanted to help Steve. Finally he looked to Pepper with a shy smile.

"Told you, you should have dressed as Maria Hill," the genius told Pepper. Pepper smacked him.

Behind the genius, Bruce tried to slip away. If he could just head off, the others could meet him or maybe he could slip into the lab for another hour or two of work... Anything was better than awkwardly going Trick or Treating with Steve looking at Pepper while she dressed like his long lost girlfriend. Thor glanced about before realizing he was getting rather hungry and so he decided to busy himself at the small buffet that had been set up for lunch earlier. Someone would call to him when they wanted to leave. Backing away from the others, Clint figured out that it was down to him. No one was going to speak to Steve. Slowly, he walked over to the soldier.

"Steve?" Clint meekly called out to the super soldier. Steve flinched at his name but didn't move to look at the boy. Instead his eyes were focused on the distant rooftops of his old neighborhood as he lost himself in his memories of the 1940s. Clint looked back at the others. Natasha was watching him and noting his gaze on her, she just nodded. At least he had her support, whatever good that did. Sighing, Clint shifted to stand right beside Steve. The boy noted that Steve's reflection glanced quickly at his own before focusing back on something in the distance. "Steve? You okay?"

"Peggy and I set up a date while I crashed the plane," Steve replied as if that answered everything. Clint shifting his weight awkwardly. He knew a little bit about Steve's history but not enough to really understand what the Captain meant. Then again, maybe all he had to do was listen. "The last thing she heard was me crashing... I wouldn't be surprised if she heard me screaming."

"I doubt she would have said anything if she did," Clint muttered even though he didn't remember ever meeting her personally. Steve looked down at Clint as he wondered if the boy was remembering his future. But as he saw the boy's face, Steve knew that Clint was just saying that to make him feel better. Steve smiled slightly. It was nice to hear.

"Yeah. Peggy isn't... Well, wasn't that type of woman," Steve corrected, something he only had to recently get used to as he had gotten a letter in the mail a few weeks ago that stated Peggy passed silently in her sleep. He wished he had had the time to go and see her one last time. Sadly missions for S.H.I.E.L.D and the Avengers had him too busy. Clint nodded.

"I'd like to hear more about her, one day," Clint suggested. Steve stiffened in surprise. Clint didn't notice and continued on. "Maybe even a few stories about the Howling Commando's and what they were like..." Clint glanced over at Steve to notice the man looked frozen in horror. Embarrassed, Clint backtracked. "I mean, you don't have to! I just... I figured..."

"No, it... It would be nice to talk about them and... And the therapist that I saw for a while said it was good to talk. Help me and my friends understand more about me and why I'm missing the 40s so much," Steve answered. Clint smiled. Nodding, Steve looked back toward the others. Tony and Natasha were silently talking to Pepper. Thor was still roaming about the buffet and Bruce was missing. The Captain's eyes mostly focused on Pepper though. Now that he was of sound mind, he could see notable differences between Pepper's outfit and Peggy's old SSI uniform. "We better get back over there so we can go Trick or Treating."

* * *

"This is AWESOME!" Clint cried, rushing ahead of the group, his bag flapping happily beside him. Steve chuckled at the boy, making sure not to lose him in the crowd of people. It was agreed that though they did not have to attend, the Stark Annual Trick or Treating fest in Central Park was a perfect area to go, well, Trick or Treating.

"Don't run too far ahead," Pepper warned, quickening her pace to catch up.

"I have him on scanners, it's fine," Natasha told the CEO through the HUD. Pepper glanced back at the spy before slowly nodding. It wasn't something that fully calmed her knowing that the only way they knew Clint was still in Central Park was some blip on the scan, but it was better than chasing after the smaller body.

"Wow, how did you make an Iron Man suit replica like that? Are you one of those Cosplayers?" someone asked Natasha as they looked over her suit. The spy glanced over, smiling behind the closed off HUD. Maybe this whole Trick or Treating idea had some measure of value.

"I know someone," she replied before tilting her head toward Tony, who had drawn a rather decent sized crowd. In fact, most of the Avengers had drawn a large crowd around them. Many asked for autographs or didn't recognize them and instead asked about the outfits. A few even asked about why they chose to dress as each other rather than themselves. So it would come as no surprise that this happened...

"CLINT!" Pepper screamed into the crowd.

"Clint! Where are you?" Tony cried right after, following his girlfriend deeper into the crowds. As the Avengers had stood in the crowds signing autographs and answering questions, Clint had continued on. No one would recognize him as being with the Avengers and he was too distracted to realize they had stopped. "I'm kinda surprised that Natasha didn't blast me with a repuslor yet..."

"Don't give her ideas," Pepper told the genius as a voice rung through Tony's comm (which he had smartly brought along as a just in case).

"Still got time, genius," the spy reminded. Tony winced before mentally reminding himself that Natasha was searching the northern grid of Central Park. Steve had taken the southern area, Bruce the west and Thor took the central part. Tony and Pepper were currently searching the eastern area.

"Does anyone have any signs of him?" Steve asked, changing the subject.

"None here," Bruce mumbled. "But Hulk is starting to get really agitated. I'm not sure if it's all the fake military men dressed up around here or if he just wants to help. But I'm having a hard time staying calm."

"I shall move to relieve our doctor friend. The central zone is clear of all passersby. He may find more solitude here," Thor mentioned.

"Sounds good. Banner, keep us updated on big green. In this crowd, it'd be really bad to lose track of him as well," Steve reminded. Tony winced. Not the best way to phrase that. But at Bruce's hum of confirmation, the doctor didn't seem to mind.

"Oh god, I can't believe we lost him," Pepper moaned. Tony glanced over at her. She looked more upset that usual. Almost distraught. "If someone reports us again, I don't think S.H.I.E.L.D will be able to keep OCFS away from us anymore."

"Pep, OCFS knows that the boy is Clint and we aren't trying to adopt. They can't do anything about it," Tony soothed. Pepper glanced back at him before biting her lip. He frowned. She was hiding something from him. What was it? She never kept secrets from him before. "Pep, what's wrong?"

"Tony Stark," a deep voice called from behind the duo before Pepper could reply. Tony spun around, on some small level recognizing the voice. He was slightly stunned to see Ben Grimm standing behind him with tapped on pictures of four faces. A closer glance made Tony understand that Ben's costume was of Mount Rushmore. Tony would have laughed had he not been desperately searching for Clint. "What brings you out and about right now?"

"Uh... Looking for someone," Tony answered, honestly. Ben looked Tony up and down. Tony frowned, wondering what the 'rock' man was doing.

"The person who stole your suit is in the north part of the park," Ben lightly commented. Tony snorted. Not who he was looking for but of course that would be Ben's first guess. The genius glanced down at his own outfit before back up at Ben. Apparently without all of them together, it was harder to see their particular choices in costumes.

"Thanks but uh. That's Natasha," the genius replied. Ben raised an eyebrow (or, to Tony's mind, half his face). "We didn't want to go as ourselves. I guess, kinda like you."

"Ha ha. This is Alicia's idea," Ben snorted. Tony mouthed an 'ah', pretty much stating he didn't believe him. Then again, Tony only met Alicia once and never believed that she was dating Ben. No matter how much the duo tried to show him the truth, Tony just didn't believe. Ben rolled his eyes. "Wait till you see Johnny. Kid can't go anywhere without showing off."

"He a big red flame ball?" Natasha called through the comm. Tony chuckled before repeating the question for Ben who full out laughed and nodded his head. Laughing himself, Tony relayed the information to the others. Steve, Bruce's and Natasha's laugh echoed through the comm and almost made Tony miss these important words...

"Doesn't he realize he'll melt his candy?" a small timid voice suddenly asked. Pepper, Tony and Ben looked down to see Clint had at some point joined their little circle and was currently enjoying his spoils. His bag looked almost completely overflowing and his once green face was now half green, half chocolate brown.

"Clint! Oh my god!" Pepper cried, before lunging down to pull the boy into a hug. Clint gratefully accepted it. A second later, Pepper pulled back to look at him. The boy was shocked to see horror and a small tinge of anger on the CEO's face. "Why did you run off?"

"I didn't mean too. I was walking along when I suddenly noticed none of you were with me. When I turned around to find you all, you were gone," Clint retorted. He didn't seem bothered by this idea. But Pepper and Tony were horrified. Ben chuckled at the simple statement but everyone ignored him for now. Pepper sighed and pulled Clint into another hug.

"Don't worry, I was watching him," a voice from somewhere said. Tony looked around, feeling suddenly rather naked without his armor. If he had his armor, he'd do a life scan right now. But as he didn't, he was just as lost as Pepper and Clint. Ben chuckled at the trio.

"Susie?" Ben inquired, not really looking for the woman but also trying to narrow down his teammate. Suddenly Susan Storm appeared behind Clint. The boy didn't even jump in surprise. Instead, he stared, fascinated by her ability. Susan smiled to him.

"We're coming to you. Stay there," Steve told Tony through the comms. Tony hummed back, not trusting himself to speak. Since when did the Fantastic Four know about Clint being turned into a kid? How did they find out? Why did no one tell him?

"Thank you," Pepper told the woman. Susan smiled.

"It's no problem. We learned about the situation a while back and haven't been able to contact you guys to let you know," Susan explained. Pepper frowned. "That night Natasha ran out of the tower, she met with me."

"That was... That was before Clint was turned into a baby... Almost over a month ago or more," Pepper declared. Susan nodded.

"Been busy working for two teams now," Ben grumbled.

"Two teams?" Steve called, entering the group from behind the man. Ben nodded.

"Fantastic Four is the substitute team when the Avengers gets knocked down. Since this incident, we've been working our normal cases and a couple Avengers cases," Ben pointed out. Steve frowned as Bruce and Thor finally joined them. Natasha and a fiery friend came next.

"I couldn't shake him," Natasha muttered, thumbing to Johnny as the 'kid' powered down to his normal suit.

"Hey everyone," Johnny called. Clint didn't seem as impressed with Johnny's powers as he had been with Susan's.

"Mount Rushmore?" Bruce asked, pointing to the photos on Ben's chest. He nodded. Bruce smirked. Great idea for a man who had a hard enough time even finding normal clothes that could fit. Maybe one day (far in the future) Hulk could be trusted enough to try a Halloween costume. "Nice."

"So you all traded outfits," Johnny obviously pointed out. He glanced at Steve. "And you get stuck with the woman's outfit. That's funny."

"I think such a thing is an honor," Thor growled, stepping toward Johnny in a threatening manner. Johnny didn't seem to notice as he raised an eyebrow.

"You get to be the archer? Really? The great and mighty god, doing something so wimpy like carry a bow?" Johnny stated. Thor gripped tightly onto the bow he held in his hand. If not for Tony warning him before they left that the bow was one that Clint (as an adult) had warned was about to break, Thor would use it against Johnny. In that moment, Johnny's gaze fell on Clint. "The pipsqueak gets to play Hulk? Really? None of you wanted to fight that?"

"Johnny, drop it," Susan ordered. Johnny waved her off.

"No, seriously. Are you all pushovers or something? Let me guess, this whole thing was his idea too," Johnny cackled. Clint curled into Pepper's arms as he looked about the other's faces. They looked pissed but Clint couldn't tell if they pissed at him or with the fire starter. Clint grimaced before he noticed something. Johnny went to say something else as the respulsors on Rescue began to whine awake. Tony, Steve and Thor all gripped their fists tightly, knowing it would be bad if anyone hit the fire starter. Bruce's skin began to turn a bit green.

"You look like Steve," Clint declared, stopped anyone from speaking next. Bruce returned to normal, the whine or repulsors stopped and the others unclenched their fists. Johnny looked to Clint in surprise.

"What?" the fire starter asked. Clint pointed between Johnny and Steve.

"You look like each other," Clint replied. The duo then faced each other and it wasn't just them that looked each of them over. Natasha snorted first.

"Yeah, ya do," she laughed.

"My god, it's like you could be twins," Susan added. Johnny looked honored for a moment before realizing what Steve was dressed as right now. Then he looked horrified.

"Oh god! No! No, we do not! We totally don't," Johnny cried, sounding more like he was begging.

"No, I see it too. You do look alike," Bruce muttered.

"Did ya have a kid in the 40s or something?" Ben joked, elbowing Steve so that the soldier knew he was joking. Steve shook his head no while smiling, understanding now that they were just making fun of Johnny. It might not even be true.

"Hydra was working on cloning tech," Steve casually mentioned but the Avengers could see the glint of humor in his eyes. Johnny's eyes widened and Steve could tell that the 'kid' couldn't tell what was worse, looking like an America icon dressed as a female superhero or possibly being a Hydra clone.

"Wasn't there some clue in the DNA," Tony continued. "Something like a safety feature?"

Johnny looked between Steve and Tony before muttering something like he left the stove on at the Baxter Building then he lit up and took off. As the flame streaked through the air, the group dissolved into laughter. Clint smiled along even though he had been serious. To him Johnny Storm and Steve Rogers looked alike.

"Oh, that was fun," Ben announced. "Better than anything I could come up with."

"That's basically what this group does all day," Pepper mentioned. Ben snorted.

"I might be on the wrong team then," he laughed. Susan sent a slightly horrified expression to Natasha who just shook her head. Ben wasn't serious. He might like it right now but after a week or a month of it, he'd get over it and head back. As the saying goes, 'grass looks greener on the other side'.

"So, back to the earlier discussion," Tony reminded. Susan nodded. "You figured out about Clint. So, what?"

"Reed's been working on a cure and he thinks he's close."

* * *

**So a bit earlier than normal. 4184 words this chapter. Gonna be busy today, got Rhode Island Comic Con that I'm going to this weekend. Get to meet Agent May! ^_^ Love it!**

**Hubby had his surgery last Friday and it went well. Only lasted 45 minutes and he woke up two hours later and then got sent home an hour after that. He was groggy and in pain for the rest of the day but healed up quick. The only issue we've had since the surgery now is migraine headaches, dizziness from the headaches, nausea from the dizziness and a randomly unexplained allergy attack on Monday. Now he isn't normally allergic to anything outside of cats and dust and those only affect his respiratory system. The allergy attack he had on Monday was red skin, swelling, hives and itchiness. We have no idea what caused it but we are currently assuming food related.**

**Toddler Clint has been doing great. A little confused as to why he can't play rough with his father this week and why he refused to pick Clint up, but other than that, good. He's still not really speaking but he is babbling a bit more and much more socially playful. Daycare has been loving him.**

**AS for my news... Yesterday went for a check up on my pregnancy and come to find out the image we saw last week of an only 5 week embryo has now turned into a 9 week and 3 day old little baby. The baby had arms and legs and waved to us when the ultrasound first started filming it. So, apparently this means I'm good. But everyone was shocked that this transformation only happened in a week. The baby grew by four weeks in that time. So, I'm still going to be closely monitored and all, but things are looking up.**

**Review Responses:**

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**Review Responses:**

_Niom Lamboise _\- Yeah, I love that I made Steve go as Black Widow. Too many keep drawing or writing Clint in her costume and I was like, nah... Steve has to do it. I like that I have Tony stepping more into Clint's father role. It flows nice and seems normal for the genius's character. Thanks for the luck, update is above.

_sammygirl1963_ \- Thank you for praying. It apparently must have worked cause the baby is quickly catching up to the size it's supposed to be. And thank you, I consider you a friend as well and worry when I don't see a review from you or even someone who tends to respond every chapter. Second, thanks for the compliment. And I was picturing the scene clearly as I wrote it. As for Clint not choosing to be himself, it's a matter of self worth there. He feels that Hawkeye isn't really part of the team and that the team could do without him, so when he has the choice, he wants to be someone more important and stronger on the team.

_amy. d .fuller .9 _\- Yup, Steve as Widow and I get that he doesn't have the frame to pull it off but honestly, who out of the Avengers really does? I love the visuals and I can't wait to see what everyone thinks of my next story. As for Clint, it's all self esteem and self worth there. He doesn't think anything he does is great. Thank you for the prayers, it means a lot that everyone here is praying for my family to pull through. Take care as well.

_m klindt_ \- Thanks you. Yes, miracles do happen. I'm sorry to hear about the issues you have had but glad that you were able to have a child as well. Things are going good now, I just felt it fair to warn everyone in case something happened in the next few weeks. Now, you'll all get to hear updates for (hopefully) the rest of this new one's life. All the best to you as well.

_Rosebadwolf_ \- Everything is going well now, thank you. I hope it stays that way. Trust me, I don't mind the reviews on this matter. I wanted to warn people as I personally know that when I follow an author that posts on a normal schedule and suddenly they fall off of it, I worry. I'm glad you feel the connection to my family based on the little tidbits I put in at the end of each chapter. I started that as a way to calm my own anxiety about being a first time mother and now it's just force of habit. Thank you for the well wishes. P.S., I have read Hawkeye vs Deadpool, it was so good. It actually helped inspire parts in my next story as well.

_MO-5431_ \- Thank you for both the comment on the chapter and for the health of my family.

_Burningrepp1_ \- Thank you for both comments. Things are really starting to look up this week.


	34. Chapter 34

"How can you be so sure that this will work?" Bruce asked Reed again. This was close to the fiftieth time that one of the Avengers had asked him. At this point, any of the Fantastic Four could state the answer, word for word. Reed sighed deeply. He just wished at this point that the Avengers trusted him. But at the same time, he understood why they kept asking. This was a teammate that they were dealing with. If Johnny or Sue or even Ben was in the same position as Clint, Reed would ask endless questions.

"I told you, I hacked into Tony's systems, JARVIS hacked back... When JARVIS realized what I wanted, he sent me the data, no questions asked. I've been working ever since," Reed explained for the sixtieth time since the Avengers had arrived. None of them had even taken the time to change out of the Halloween costumes before coming over. Ben, Sue and Johnny hadn't really dressed up, so they looked normal. "I just solved the whole thing when you guys walked in."

"But the serum was created to be used on Hulk. How can you be so certain that this will work on Clint?" Bruce wondered, sounding a bit like he was hyperventaling. Considering the doctor blamed himself for this whole situation, Bruce had wanted to solve it but yet he wasn't able to. Steve came over and placed a hand on the doctor's shoulders in an effort to calm him. If anyone noticed that Bruce jumped at the contact, they wouldn't speak of it.

"Bruce, calm down. Let JARVIS scan Dr. Richard's work," Steve suggested. Bruce sighed before nodding. Reed sighed as well and nodded thanks to the soldier. He had been getting tense just speaking to Bruce. Reed really just wanted this while thing to be over. The sooner the Avengers took the cure for Clint, the sooner they could leave and he could get back to his other lab projects.

"I called out some extra help from Hank Pym and Stephen Strange as well. With their input, this was the best solution we could come up with," Reed continued, focusing on Tony, who was currently scanning Reed's lab like he had walked into the lair of an enemy. It was very old school of the genius, checking out someone who could be considered his equal. Reed rolled his eyes. "Tony!"

"What! Hmm? Oh, sorry. I'm still lost on the bit where you thought you could break through my firewalls," Tony said, turning to face Reed. The leader of the Fantastic Four just gave the genius a deadpan look.

"Tony," Pepper warned, seeing better than the genius that he was treading on thin ice. Reed had the cure for Clint and if Tony continued to press and poke at Reed, the man might not be so willing to give it up. Tony just shrugged and flashed a smile at the CEO of his company. Reed sighed.

"I knew I couldn't break the firewalls. But I also knew that you or, hopefully, someone else would back track the attempt back to me and I could ask for the data I needed then," Reed replied. Tony snorted as Steve frowned and looked about the others. Was he missing something here. Natasha and Susan traded a look that Pepper quickly joined in. Johnny smiled and elbowed Ben, trying to get something out of his friend. Ben rolled his eyes. Bruce looked to the ground, trying to remember if someone mentioned the hack to him. Clint stared back at Steve, his expression just as curious.

"Why not just ask for it?" Steve wondered. Tony shook his head as Reed looked to the super soldier. "I'm sure Tony would have given it to you without all that hassle."

"Are we talking about the same Tony Stark?" Reed countered. Steve's frown deepened. "Tony and I don't tend to get along."

"We are rivals. We aren't supposed to get along," Tony pointed out, something that apparently the two debated as Reed rolled his eyes. Bruce focused on Tony before looking back at Reed and then settling on Tony.

"You get along with me," Bruce muttered, wondering if he should be insulted that Tony didn't deem a rivalry with him worth it. Tony scoffed and waved the doctor off. The genius wasn't in rival fights with a lot of people that he could be with. Reed just always rubbed him the wrong way.

"We're Science Bros. We talk science together. Reed and I plot behind each other's backs," Tony explained. Reed shook his head.

"You plot. I sit back and wonder when you'll grow up," Reed reiterated. Clint and Johnny chuckled as Tony grumpily looked back at Reed. Mr. Fantastic just watched the billionaire, almost daring him to start a fight. Thankfully there were more mature audience members who were over this particular course of conversation.

"Are you done bickering?" Natasha asked, moving to stand behind Tony in a threatening way. The genius shuddered. He didn't think the spy could get much scarier than before but now having her in the Rescue suit and basically acting as intimidating as before, he was terrified. Slowly, he nodded his head. Natasha didn't even look at Reed as she changed the subject back to why the Avengers had invaded the Baxter Building. "Good, now about this cure."

"Yes, JARVIS has been working with me a little on this situation and as I mentioned before, Hank Pym and Stephen Strange have also been helping," Reed began to say. Tony, of course, interrupted.

"Wait, wait, wait. My JARVIS has been helping you?" Tony repeated, stressing the fact that JARVIS was his AI. Reed frowned at the genius but nodded his acceptance anyways. Tony's face morphed into betrayal and anger. "That traitor! I'll donate him!"

"Tony," Pepper yet again warned, stopping the rant from continuing. Tony turned to her and pouted. Pepper stared at him angrily. "Do I have to send you upstairs?"

"No," Tony whined. "I'll be good."

"Kinda sad when a four-year old acts more mature then you, ain't it?" Johnny joked. Susan turned to glare at him. The fire starter waved his hands in a defensive gesture, pretty much agreeing to stop talking. Ben chuckled now but stopped when Susan turned her glare onto him.

"Why Strange?" Bruce asked, having not thought to ask for help from other heroes in the area, including Reed himself. Reed shrugged. Honestly, he hadn't even thought to ask Stephen for help.

"Pym suggested that cause he was a doctor before... Strange actually helped a lot more than I thought he would. He was the one who pointed out that though the serum was created to be used on gamma irradiated blood, we should really focus on what it does to change normal blood. By examining the differences of the initial injection of the serum onto the bloods, we noticed a minor abnormality," Reed described. Bruce frowned. He had been so focused on the long term effects of the serum that he hadn't even considered noting any early differences. Pepper glanced over at Bruce before focusing on Reed. Everyone else seemed intrigued by Reed's statements that they didn't even think about what Bruce had been up to this entire time.

"Bruce said that that wouldn't work," Pepper said, catching on. Bruce winced at her words. No one seemed to notice. Clint glanced over at the doctor. He knew that the man had been working hard on trying to find a cure. This must be a huge blow to his ego to find out that someone else solved it by following a path he had quickly dismissed. Reed smiled at Pepper, glad she noticed.

"JARVIS explained that Bruce wasn't following that lead as he was focused on the long term effects of the serum and diluting it down. Maybe even figuring out how to get it to work for him by trying to cure Clint," Reed excused. Bruce looked away from everyone and so he didn't catch their sympathetic gaze. The Avengers knew that Bruce had created this serum to try and rid himself of Hulk and so it was no surprise to them that Bruce had been focused on not only a cure, but also in making the serum work properly. Clint was the only one still watching the doc as he walked away from the group and headed toward the stairwell to the upstairs. Unperturbed by it all, Reed continued to explain what he, Pym and Strange had done. Bored with that, Clint chased after Bruce.

"Bruce," Clint called after the doc. Bruce glanced back at the boy. He silently noted that Clint waited until out of hearing shot from the others before calling out to him. It was something that made the doc smile at the boy. "You okay?"

"Yes... No... Maybe," Bruce grumbled, confused with his own emotions. He went to turn away from Clint but not before he caught Clint's confused face that made him chuckle at the boy. Sighing, Bruce centered himself, intent on giving Clint an answer. "Honestly, I feel bad. I should have been able to find a cure, but I didn't."

"Doesn't matter to me who came up with the cure," Clint commented. Bruce looked at him, surprised. Clint shrugged. "I don't see myself as sick really. I don't remember being an adult, so to me... I've always been four."

"Do you want the cure?" Bruce questioned, realizing for the first time that they hadn't even asked him. Clint shrugged again. Bruce shook his head. "We were so focused on getting you back to normal... We never thought to ask what you wanted..."

"My home life ain't all it's cracked up to be right now but... Through this, I know Barney and I make it out of there. That's a comfort," Clint mentioned, sitting down on an abandoned stool. Bruce looked down at the ground as he thought back on Clint's history. At age four, his parents would still be alive and he'd be getting almost nightly beatings from his father. For anyone, it would be comforting to know they get out of that situation alive. "It'd be great to remember all you guys as actual friends but... I get this feeling that there's a lot I should be glad I don't remember."

Bruce winced, his mind quickly flashing to Loki and the 'god' controlling Clint through most of the Manhattan attack. It took the archer almost a year to get over that whole thing. Seeing him now, even as a child, made Bruce glad that he had forgotten about it. Clint smiled at the doctor as he saw Bruce going over what Clint should remember. Bruce then took a moment to focus on the boy.

"We could just cure the instability and not re-age you," Bruce suggested. Clint shook his head.

"Nah. I've lived through being four before. I may not currently remember it all but... To be honest, I've... I've been getting headaches cause randomly I'll suddenly remember what I am... or was doing at this age when I was with my family," Clint tried to explain. Bruce frowned, understanding what the boy meant but not liking the whole headache issue.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Clint shrugged. He seemed to be doing that a lot.

"It isn't a big deal. Doesn't even really bother me anymore," Clint said, trying to brush it off. Bruce kneeled down to get a closer look at Clint. Now he could see that the boy's eyes were bloodshot and his pupils were narrowed. Signs that he was currently suffering from a rather bad headache right now. Bruce sighed.

"Clint, this is a big deal. We have no idea what the serum could be doing to your brain right now. Never mind what we may have done to damage it when you were younger," Bruce pleaded. Clint shifted away but Bruce wouldn't let him get farther than off the seat. He held the boy till Clint looked back over at him. "This is serious. These headaches could be a precursor to brain damage."

"All the more reason for me to not argue and take the cure," Clint pointed out, somehow bring the conversation back around. Bruce frowned at him. Clint sighed and looked to the ground. "I know you are all worried that Mr. Fantastic got the cure wrong but... Can we really wait? Can we risk me not taking it?"

Bruce said nothing. Clint was right. The longer they waited, the higher the chance that the serum will change him again and now apparently, more damage could be done. Damage to his brain and who knows what else. Long term, this serum could still kill him, just not in the way that Bruce had first anticipated. That was why Clint didn't care where the cure came from. He just knew that he needed to take it so he could continue on like normal. Bruce shook his head with a gentle smile.

"Since when did you get so smart?" Bruce joked, not seeing Clint wince. The boy shrugged, using it as an attempt to hide his wince. Bruce frowned but waited.

"My mom used to call me her 'little genius'. I would come home and tell her all the cool things I had learned. The school even told her once that I could potentially skip a grade. But my dad... He didn't like that. He said that I didn't know nothin' 'bout real life and if I continued on, I'd be retarded and weak. I didn't believe him at first until he began beating me... So, I stopped telling them what I learned. I just observed everyone. Dad would beat me anytime I forgot and sometimes even when I tried to just watch him. He claimed that I had a knowing look," Clint muttered. Bruce tensed, feeling Hulk want to go find this man and beat him down but Bruce knew that Harold Barton was dead. No need to beat him. Clint looked at him. "I guess it stuck..."

"I admit that when you're older, you tend not to well... Brag like Tony. But you've never really shown us what you know. You've also never done anything I would consider really stupid," Bruce said, having a hard time remembering when Clint actually showed his intelligence. Yeah there was his tactical intelligence but he always argued that S.H.I.E.L.D taught everyone tactical things. Nothing really stood out as saying that Clint was smarter than normal. But considering he never actually obtained a high school or even college degree, Bruce should have seen it earlier. Clint chuckled.

"JARVIS said that I had been fixing up an old truck in the garage and my closet doubled as a secret lab area that I used to build more arrows," Clint happily described. Bruce stilled. He didn't know that. Why hadn't his older self said anything? Did he just not trust them with this knowledge?

"You build your own arrows?" he questioned. It was something that none of the Avengers considered. Tony had once absently mentioned that he could make some arrows for Clint but the archer had waved him off. Bruce guessed then that he was getting them from S.H.I.E.L.D R&amp;D. But if what JARVIS told Clint was true (and it had to be cause the source was JARVIS), then Bruce really needed to rethink his stance on Clint.

"According to JARVIS and the sight of my closet when you push past all the clothes. JARVIS said that I spend many nights building arrows rather than sleeping. I supposedly store them everywhere too. I got hidey holes in your labs, my room, the garage, the quinjet, the... Well, what used to be the living room," Clint laughed. Before Bruce could ask any more about it all, Pepper, Natasha, Susan and Tony came over to them. Bruce and Clint just turned to watch them. Pepper and Natasha were lost in conversation, Tony looked slightly concerned but Susan just smiled at Clint.

"JARVIS is ninety percent certain that the cure that Reed came up with will work," Susan told the duo. Clint nodded, moving around the chair to get closer. Pepper and Natasha smiled at the boy. The CEO reached her hand out and Clint quickly grabbed on, not even noticing as they began walking off. Tony and Bruce stayed behind.

"So, we're gonna fix me now?" Clint asked. Susan nodded. Clint smiled lightly and none of the women caught onto the fact that Clint was slightly nervous about all this. "Okay."

With that, the women and Clint headed back over to where the rest of the group stood. Steve and Thor seemed to still be questioning Reed about the cure while Johnny, who was apparently bored, began tossing a fire ball back and forth. Ben was carefully watching Johnny, waiting to see if he would drop the fire ball and how fast he'd be able to put it out. Bruce stared after them as he thought over everything Clint had told him. This was indeed for the best. As horrifying as it was, it needed to be done. Tony shifted to stand beside the doc.

"You okay?" Tony inquired. Bruce hummed and turned to look at him. Tony huffed in amusement. "With Clint getting the cure from Reed?"

"Yeah. I have no problem with that. Clint needs the cure... It's just something he told me," Bruce replied.

"Oh?" Tony called. Bruce sighed and looked toward Clint, who was currently laughing at something that Thor must have said. Thor looked confused but still had small smile on his face. Johnny had stopped playing with his fire ball and Ben was talking with Steve. Natasha and Pepper were now grilling Reed and Susan was standing with Clint, trying to hold back her own laughter at the thunderer.

"Did you know Clint builds his own arrows and has been fixing up a truck in your garage?" Bruce wondered, knowing that it wasn't relevant to the cure or anything but that's what his mind was focused on. Tony faced the doc, trying to determine if Bruce was joking or not.

"I knew there was a truck in my garage but I assumed it was Spangles' or yours."

"Clint just told me that his dad used to beat him whenever he told anyone about anything he had learned. The man told Clint he was an idiot until Clint finally starting hiding his intelligence," Bruce explained. Tony now turned to look at the boy. Thinking back on everything, Tony was surprised that he hadn't seen the signs before. While Clint was massively undereducated, he was still able to keep up with a lot of his long winded speeches and sometimes even chime in.

"So, what does this mean?" Tony whispered, fearing that Bruce was bringing this about because of the serum. Bruce looked to the genius.

"I don't know... But... When he returns to normal, I'm going to show him that intelligence isn't a bad thing."

* * *

"So when should we do this?" Steve asked as soon as Bruce and Tony rejoined the rest of the group. Bruce looked down to Clint before focusing on Steve.

"As soon as possible," Bruce suggested, knowing about the dangers of Clint's headaches. But Reed shook his head no. The man knew something else that he hadn't told them.

"I had JARVIS run this a few different times and a few different ways. If we give him the cure now, it would be like adding cold water to a pot of boiling water. Basically no reaction. But if we add the cure while he's changing ages, then the cure can pinpoint the serum and force it to age him to his proper age before stabilizing and hopefully vanishing from his system," Reed described. The Avengers all traded looks.

"But we have no way of knowing when he'll change," Pepper pointed out. Reed nodded.

"That's why I didn't say anything before. I actually had this cure for a few weeks. But Pym figured out how to induce a change," Reed explained. Bruce shook his head.

"That sounds really dangerous for Clint. What if we can't give him the cure and the induced change de-ages till he's just egg and sperm?" Bruce questioned. Clint balked at that and tucked himself into Pepper's legs. The CEO leaned down and pulled him into a hug while glaring at Bruce. Of course, Bruce didn't notice. Johnny backed away, his hand covering his eyes.

"Dude! That's nasty! Totally didn't need that image in my head," the fire starter cried. Susan smacked his arm.

"If you can't behave, I'll send you upstairs," Susan ordered. Johnny nodded before backing away from the group as if to hide himself from her. Susan rolled her eyes before focusing on Reed. "Did you find a way to stop that from happening?"

"Sadly, no." This caused a giant uproar from everyone. Reed calmly held his hands out until everyone stopped yelling at him. "The serum is too unstable. Any time we tried to control it, outside of the cure itself, it never worked. Sometimes the change never happened but mostly it just backfired against us. But we did learn that the serum will take a massive amount of time before Clint's body reaches that point. In fact, once his body hits about a month old, the serum tends to slow down drastically, almost as if waiting for someone to stop it."

"So, we have time?" Tony clarified. Reed nodded. "Bruce also mentioned that the serum could age him to Cap's age. What if that happens?"

"It took a half hour for Clint to go from five months to four years. I bet going from four to ninety would take three times longer, if not more," Natasha pointed out, remembering that terrifying moment as if it was happening before them again. Bruce, Steve and Tony shuddered. None of them really wanted to remember that specific moment but she did bring up a good point. As much as Bruce was worried that they didn't have time, none of the serum's process took seconds to complete. It more took minutes. Tony then focused on Reed.

"You know, if you're wrong and this doesn't work, we will kill you," Tony suddenly threatened. Reed chuckled, thinking this was just the genius going back into typical banter but as he looked about the other Avengers, he realized they were serious. If something happened to Clint and he couldn't explain it, they'd come back for him. He swallowed some built up saliva before nodding. It was a terrifying thought that the Avengers could potentially come after him but Reed could see where it was coming from. If one of his team members had been down like this and he had to trust Tony or Bruce for the cure, he'd promise the same thing.

"Well, I'll ask again, when are we going to do this?" Steve asked. Reed turned back to his work station and grabbed two vials before turning back and handing them off to Bruce. The doc looked down at them and silently noted that they were labeled but he was confused as to why Reed was giving it to him. Before he could ask, Reed looked to the others.

"Clint might feel safer returning to normal in a more familiar setting. Avengers Tower isn't far away if you need me," Reed told them, his voice cracking lightly in fear. Bruce, with a raised eyebrow, pocketed the vials. Susan gave Reed a confused look as the man stood and began to usher the Avengers out of his lab. Natasha slid between Reed and Susan as the group started to leave.

"Don't try to run if things go south. We will find you," she warned. Reed paled and stopped moving after the group. Natasha walked away as if she hadn't said anything. Pepper turned back to him.

"Thank you Reed. This means a lot," the CEO called happily (a stark contrast to the Avengers), dragging Tony behind her. The genius grumbled but didn't actually fight her. Clint happily led the way back up the stairs and to the elevator down to the lobby, Thor behind him. Pepper and Tony trailed after them. Steve walked with Bruce, the two not really discussing anything, just silently walking together. Natasha took up the rear. Susan moved to stand by her husband.

"Will it work?" she muttered. Reed shuddered.

"It has too... Or they'll be back."

"We can take them!" Johnny declared, sounding more confident than any of them felt. Reed shook his head as Ben placed a hand on the man's shoulder.

"We won't have too. The cure will work," Ben told them. Reed nodded and looked after the path that the Avengers had taken.

"Yeah. It will."

* * *

**4139 words this chapter. And everything is wrapping up nicely now. Only four more chapters to go. Glad everyone is liking this story so much. Hopefully you'll all love the sequel. Which, if you have been paying attention to my profile page; the sequel is onto chapter 9, almost chapter 10.**

**My family is doing okay. Toddler Clint is doing well. Had a case of Hand, Foot, and Mouth which if you have never heard of is apparently a rash that appears on the hands, around the lips, feet and butt. Usually also has bumps that apparently can burst and leak fluids. Thankfully, Clint never had this issue. He just had red bumps. The lips and hands cleared up after two days but his feet still have some and his butt is still pretty covered. But the butt is the last to normally right itself in this case (or so we've been told). My husband saw his regular doctor about the allergic reaction from last Monday. Apparently he still has hives all over his back so he was prescribed meds and will go see a specialist about the allergy and allergy testing. As for me and the second baby, things are looking well. I've been told not to gain any weight with this pregnancy as I am pushing 300lbs and only stand at 5'3". The baby is healthy and while getting testing done about down syndrome, I was told they could test for the baby's sex and so we are doing that so that we can actually call the baby a name rather than fighting over whether the babe is a girl or boy. (I say girl, my husband says boy). Then we can even release the name we have chosen.**

**Review Responses:**

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**Review Responses:**

_Niom Lamboise _\- Thanks. I did have fun at Comic Con. So much fun that now... I'm broke. lol. Hopefully that won't last much longer. :p

_sammygirl1963_ \- Thank you. Glad to have the prayers out there. Also glad that you 'loved, loved, loved the chapter.' I was tempted to have Clint get kidnapped again but felt that was a bit too obvious while trick or treating and villains do have kids too. ;) I'm glad I brought the Fantastic Four in as well. I had no idea how to cure Clint until the thought that Marvel has other genius's out there hit me. Made me feel so much better.

_amy. d .fuller .9 _\- Wow. I fear losing my son at any place. I fear it so bad that I won't let him out of my sight in public. Tee hee. The story is winding up now. Only a few more chapters left so not many more bumps. And yes, the blackmail material covers about a 2 terabyte hard drive, lol. Glad you like Ben Grimm as Mt. Rushmore. I had no idea what to make him and suddenly that just clicked in my head. So simple, and yet so elegant. As for the self-esteem, sadly that is one of the biggest things I play on in all my stories. When it comes to my family, thank you. My husband still has headaches and migraines so we think that is a separate issue from his illness from before. We're working on checking that and his allergy issue. As for the second baby, we're now waiting on blood results that tell us the gender. Then I can release the name! ^_^ Thanks for the prayers and you're welcome for keeping you updated.

_m klindt_ \- Yup, definitely hearing the positive thoughts and prayers. Thanks for the comment on the chapter. As for my husband and his allergic reaction, he wasn't on an antibiotic and all other meds he had been on since Friday with no problems. We all think it was his lunch that he got allergic too. But we also recently found out that he is still currently having the allergic reaction. He had hives still on his back. So, we have no idea what is going on. His doctor prescribed epi-pens as a just in case it ever got that bad again. He is also back on allergy pills. Thanks for the suggestions.

_gess789_ \- Thank you. I'm sorry that I'm not portraying Bruce's background well. I get so focused on Clint that I tend to forget about the others and their backgrounds. And while Clint had Barney to help him through, I'm playing off the storyline that Barney betrays Clint by trying to kill him before leaving the circus. I have since learned that Barney does not always do this in Clint's background and instead leaves Clint behind as he joins the army, but I feel better having Barney trying to kill him instead. Thanks for the suggestion. I shall work on that I bit in the future.


	35. Chapter 35

The return to Avengers Tower was silent. They spent a small amount of time waiting at the bottom of the Baxter Building for Happy to come and pick them up before he left. With it still being Halloween, the streets were clogged with other drivers returning home or just starting their night out and people walking about in costume. No one really paid any attention to it as they were all lost in their own little worlds. Everyone was thinking about what they've been through with Clint and the whole situation. They were even beginning to wonder if the cure will even work. None of them even realized it was close to midnight until Clint suddenly passed out in the car. The stress of the night finally just knocked him out. They still only had a few minutes to go till they reached the tower at that point.

Bruce was the first to notice that Clint had fallen asleep as the boy had been sitting beside him. Once Clint had passed out, the boy had fallen over onto Bruce. The doctor chuckled before drawing everyone else's attention. Natasha and Pepper both smiled at the sight. Clint looked so comfortable and safe. Thor grabbed Tony's discarded cape and draped it along Clint's sleeping form. Tony grunted, distracted with the idea of trusting Reed. Steve shook his head.

"Guess we wait till morning?" Steve mumbled as he glanced over the boy. How he had fallen asleep in the car without anyone noticing, Steve had no idea. In fact, no one really knew but they were impressed. It was known that his older self could basically sleep anywhere but they hadn't realized it was a lifelong ability.

"It shouldn't hurt by the sounds of it," Bruce replied, keeping his voice down so as to not disturb the boy. Clint moaned lightly at Bruce's slight movements but didn't waken.

"What if he changes overnight?" Tony asked, sounding genuinely panicked at the idea, his mind refocusing on the current matter. Bruce looked to the genius. It was a horrifying thought. Clint could change before they cure him and he could either go really old or far too young and they wouldn't be there to help. They'd be sleeping themselves.

"JARVIS has been monitoring him. He knows what to look for and can wake us," Natasha pointed out. It was in that moment that the car pulled into the garage at the tower. Pepper, who was closest to the door, opened it and exited. Tony came next, then Steve, Thor and Natasha. Bruce stopped long enough to pick Clint up before exiting. Clint wasn't even disturbed by all the movement.

"Shall we return him to his room of beds?" Thor wondered, trying to keep his voice down even though it echoed through the garage. Everyone winced and watched Clint but the boy slept on. Steve nodded to Thor before taking Clint from Bruce's arms and leading the way to the elevator.

The only pause was when Tony stopped to point out the truck that Clint mentioned to Bruce. It was in the far back corner. The truck looked like a rust bucket that no one would be able to fix, but one could just about see the signs of someone fixing it up. Bruce frowned at it before shaking his head and moving the genius along again.

The ride up to Clint's floor was silent as no one wanted to disturb the boy. Steve was careful not to jostle Clint too much as they moved. Thankfully, Clint was so tired that, more than likely, a bomb could have gone off in front of them and he still wouldn't wake. Once on Clint's floor the group headed into Clint's room together.

Pepper rushed into the bedroom to prepare the bed with Natasha hot on her heels in an effort to get some PJs. Steve and Thor worked together to hold Clint up and strip him of his Halloween outfit while Bruce went to the bathroom to get a towel with soap to clean off the make-up that made Clint's face green. Tony took away the noise making fists and placed them on the kitchen island along with Clint's Halloween bounty. Natasha returned with the PJs in time to add into the mix of striping Clint and then redressing him. Bruce came in with Pepper and began to gently clean of his face next. Still, Clint did not stir.

With the boy completely cleaned and changed, Steve gently took over holding Clint once again. Slowly the group headed into Clint's room. Steve gradually laid the boy down in his bed. Once he was down, Pepper traded places with Steve and tucked the boy in. Certain that he was good, the group began to back out. Still no one spoke until they completely exited.

"Wow, he's out," Tony joked as soon as the group exited Clint's room and stood in the hall. The door clicked shut a second later.

"We should wait on the cure till he wakes up on his own," Bruce told the others. Everyone agreed, not wanting to disturb Clint before he was ready. The more rest he got, maybe the higher chance of the cure working without any side effects.

"I can't believe this whole thing is almost over," Pepper murmured, having spent more time with Clint than the others (outside of Tony). Tony nodded in agreement. Natasha sighed and relaxed into the wall. Bruce hummed as Thor smiled.

"Well, not really for long," Steve commented, pointing to Pepper's stomach. The CEO blushed. In all the commotion with Clint, it was easy to forget that she was carrying another life. Another life that would be due in only a few short months. She was already beginning to show, just the slightest bulge on her stomach that one could attribute to her gaining five or six pounds. Thankfully, Pepper had admitted it to the others long beforehand what was going on. Everyone had been happy for her and for Tony. In fact, now that this whole situation with Clint was almost over, they were looking forward to a new baby.

"I wonder what Clint will remember," Natasha mumbled. Then she looked to Bruce. There was a bunch of information that she wanted him to remember but she also half hoped he wouldn't remember. Some things she said would be best left forgotten. "Will he remember any of this?"

"There's no real way of knowing," Bruce replied. Natasha nodded but Bruce continued on. "Though, something Clint told me earlier makes me have hope that he doesn't really remember."

"We should go to bed, it's late and who knows what time Clint will wake," Pepper suggested before anyone could question Bruce more. It was a good thing too, as Bruce let out a huge yawn. The others chuckled at the sight. Bruce just gave them an embarrassed smile.

"I fear I am too excited to sleep," Thor sadly informed them. Natasha shifted to stand by him, even as she placed a hand on his arm. She had stripped herself of the Rescue armor as soon as they entered the garage.

"It's okay. I don't think I can sleep either. We'll watch movies in the theater room," the spy said. Tony thought back to the living room. He hadn't updated anyone on its progress. And amazingly, none of them seemed to care that he hadn't told them.

"Construction on the communal floor should be done in the next two weeks, barring any attacks," the genius absently muttered. Pepper glanced at him. Even she hadn't been updated on the floor. She had been rather upset that Tony had chosen to change the floor but after seeing the new design, she looked forward to seeing it again.

"In time for Thanksgiving, good," Pepper called, already planning a huge feast to celebrate everything they've been through this year alone. The group smiled at her. It would be nice to celebrate. Last year, there had been an attack and so they weren't even in the country. In fact, Clint and Natasha had been kidnapped, Thor was away in Asgard, Bruce stayed behind as Hulk was not needed and Steve and Tony were looking for the missing assassins.

Tony suddenly groaned aloud, making everyone turn to look at him in surprise. He paced away from the group even as he moaned and whined. The sounds he kept making was nothing that seemed liked words. He just kept going on though. Everyone just watched, unsure what provoked him and how to get him to stop.

"I already did my Christmas shopping!" he finally cried as if it was a huge deal. The others traded looks. That's what he was so upset about? How was that a big deal? But more importantly...

"Why?" Bruce asked. Tony shrugged as Pepper sighed, making a mental note to go through what Tony had bought. While the man may be a genius, he sucked horribly at shopping for someone else. All she could remember was that huge bunny rabbit for her birthday. A nice sentiment but way too large and in the way all the time.

"I was excited for Clint... I wanted this to be the best Christmas ever and as we didn't think we could find a cure, I just went shopping online. Guess I wanted to surprise him," Tony moaned, not really believing his luck at the moment. Of course, the one time he prepares early, it has to be the one time that it basically gets screwed up. At this point, Tony was ready to completely give up getting ready.

"Why would you shop this early?" Bruce wondered. Who in the world would ever finish shopping before all the Christmas sales? To the doctor, it made no sense. But then again, he didn't have money like Tony did. Maybe it was just certain people that did this, but Bruce just couldn't wrap his head around it. Tony shrugged.

"I used to miss a lot of important dates like birthdays and Christmas... Got used to letting Pepper go out and buy her own gift from me. But, lately it started to bug me that I didn't actually know what I was getting people. So, I started shopping early so that I knew I got them something," Tony retorted. Natasha snorted. Knowing Tony as well as she did, the gifts for Clint won't be age appropriate. In fact, Natasha wasn't entirely sure that anything the genius bought would be appropriate.

"Better return the gifts you bought Clint. He won't be a kid any longer," the spy joked. Tony nodded. Sadly that was basically all he had bought the archer... Kid items and toys... Having to return all that was going to be a pain in the butt. At that thought, he moaned aloud again. The others traded looks. What could be so bad now?

"I can't. I had them all pre-wrapped and I took them out of their delivery boxes... I don't know which item came from where..." Tony whined, desperate for an answer that won't seem to come. Then a thought came to him. A thought that everyone had though on the ride to the tower but no one voiced until now. "What if the cure doesn't work?"

"The cure will work," Bruce grunted, sounding certain in such a way that no one could fight it. In fact, no one wanted to deny that and instead they stood in silence. They were like that for a few minutes before finally Pepper yawned. Everyone smiled at her as she cleared the yawn from her system.

"I'm tired so, good night everyone," the CEO declared before walking off with quick determined steps. Tony chuckled before waving a good night and following after her to their room.

"Well, I guess we should all go head to bed," Bruce told the group. Steve nodded.

"I still fear that I am too excited," Thor replied. Natasha shook her head.

"We have a movie to go watch," she told the thunderer. Thor smiled, he had forgotten that Natasha had promised to watch a movie with him. Nodding a good night, the duo headed off. Bruce focused on Steve, who just shrugged.

"I'm a bit too nervous," Steve admitted. Bruce chuckled and nodded. He felt much the same way. "I think I might head down to the gym to let out some steam."

"Sure," Bruce said. With a nod, Steve turned and left himself. Bruce glanced back to Clint's room. Even with all the commotion Clint still hadn't been disturbed. He smiled before shoving his hands in his pockets. At this point, he had all desire to simply sit down in the hall and wait. But as his hands moved about in his pockets, Bruce felt the vials that Reed had given him. "Ah."

An idea came to him. Maybe this cure could help him stabilize the serum. A smile graced his lips. Feeling much better than he had in a long while, Bruce turned and headed toward his lab. There wasn't much of this 'cure' that Reed gave him. But with JARVIS's help, Bruce was certain that nothing would get messed up.

* * *

By the time Clint woke up the next morning, everyone else was asleep throughout the tower. Thor and Natasha hadn't left the theater room and instead had drifted off in the seats while in the middle of their second movie. Thankfully it was a simple boring comedy/drama that Natasha had already seen. Steve had made it back to his room after an hour and a half of working out. He nearly conked out before even laying down. But thankfully he had enough forethought to strip his Halloween outfit off and shower before actually going to sleep.

And of course, Pepper and Tony were in their rooms. Nice and rested in their overly large, overly grand, comfy bed. Bruce had even actually left his lab at some point and took it upon himself to camp outside of Clint's room. That was how the boy found him when Clint first went to search for everyone without speaking to JARVIS.

Seeing the sleeping doctor outside his room, Clint very softly and gently headed back inside and closed his door. Once there, Clint wasn't sure what to do. Should he have JARVIS wake everyone or should he leave them alone? If he woke them, then they'd give him the cure. But, did he really want that? To a small degree, he wanted to be his proper age but... What was his proper age? Was it four? A five month old? A thirty year old? Or maybe he was actually in his nineties and the others had just been kind before.

"JARVIS?" Clint called.

"Yes, Young Barton?" JARVIS replied. Clint snorted at the nickname.

"Can you play that movie for me of my future?" the boy asked, remembering the video he had once been shown when he was a baby. JARVIS had mentioned it once or twice when he first returned from being kidnapped. As the video began to play, JARVIS felt the need to ask one more question.

"Shall I wake the others now that you are awake?" JARVIS asked even as Clint moved between rooms. He quickly returned to his room and got dressed. Clint shook his head, his mind flashing to the comforting image of Bruce in the hall.

"No, we all got in rather late. Let them sleep for a little while longer," Clint replied even as he looked about his room, wondering what to do now. The video still played but he wasn't in the mood to watch it now. Normally someone else was up at the same time as him and he could usually hang with them or spy on them. But that wasn't the case right now. It was strange being the only one awake. JARVIS hesitated.

"Are you certain? They agreed that as soon as you woke that you would get the cure," JARVIS explained. Clint tensed at the mention of the cure and his heart skipped a beat. Having been following the Avengers' medical needs for a while now, JARVIS understood that that meant Clint was scared. "Do you fear the cure will not work?"

Clint just nodded. JARVIS quickly scanned over all the data once again. Still 90% certainty of working correctly. The AI wished for a higher percentage but considering other attempts never seemed to make it over 50 percent... This was the best bet of working properly. JARVIS didn't tell Clint this. It was maybe that extra 10% that had everyone so frightened. If only the AI could fix that stupid number. Clint sat down on the edge of his bed, looking over the room.

"I am certain it will work," the AI soothed. Clint smiled, glad for the AI before nodding.

"Okay, wake them."

Within fifteen minutes, everyone had assembled in Clint's room. They even brought medical equipment to Clint's room. Rather quickly Bruce was setting it all up and started seemingly turning Clint's bedroom into a rather comfortable hospital room. The doc had explained to the others that he had no idea what could potentially happen to Clint while the cure was working. Even Reed had no answers. It would be best for Bruce to monitor Clint for any signs of something about to go wrong. They had agreed and helped as much as possible. But right now, actually setting them up, everyone but Bruce was lost.

"We sure we want to do this? I mean, we still have a shot that the serum will settle on its own, right?" Tony called, suddenly sounding slightly panicked. Pepper shifted to stand beside him and he unconsciously reached out and pulled her into a hug. Steve stood on the far side of Clint's bed and Thor stood by the bathroom door. Natasha stood at the foot of the bed. Clint awkwardly stood in the middle of the room, watching Bruce set up the various machines.

"We have no choice. The serum won't settle on its own. All of our data shows that. If Clint's blood was gamma irradiated, then yes, it maybe, might settle. But as we know, his blood isn't," Bruce countered, grunting as he reached for a plug. Tony shook his head as Clint moved to place a hand on his arm. This needed to be done and Clint completely understood why.

"It's fine. I want to do this," Clint told the genius. Tony kneeled down, bringing Pepper down with him as he went. Pepper pulled the boy into a hug, wondering if Clint would still be as close with her as he was right now. They stayed like this for a moment before Clint pulled back and glanced over the room at large. Everyone but Bruce was focused on him. And they all looked concerned to some degree. "I understand the risks but I have to return to normal."

"Okay," Tony answered, sounding more like he sobbed the answer out. Clint frowned before pulling the genius into a hug. To some small degree, he understood that Tony was extremely close with him but he didn't know how close or even why.

"I hope I remember everything you guys did for me. It means a lot to me," Clint said. No one replied for a minute as Bruce turned back. The doc was done hooking everything up and now seemed a bit embarrassed. Clint looked at him, as if expecting this. He smiled to the doc. "We good?"

"Uh, strip down," Bruce ordered, covering the embarrassment of the situation. Not that his words made it even better. Clint paled and rather quickly looked to Natasha and Pepper. Natasha rolled her eyes at the boy, having seen more of Clint naked than the boy realized. Pepper chuckled, figuring it was best she didn't mention that she was the main one who changed his diapers as a baby. Bruce sighed and explained the reasoning. "When you grow, those clothes don't grow with you. They'll get too small rather quickly and I'd rather not try and cut them off. As for any adult clothing, I don't want to risk you trashing and tangling the excess fabric around you before you get big enough to fit in them."

"Uh, okay," Clint stuttered. That hadn't been his problem with the idea of stripping. The women chuckled, getting it before the men. Tony was next to get Clint's issue. He laughed and when Thor, Bruce and Steve looked to him for an answer, he pointed to the women. Then the others got it. Bruce winced, wishing he had thought of that before. Steve turned a nice shade of red. Thor chuckled, his voice booming across the room. Pepper grabbed a hold of Natasha's hand as the two headed to the door leading into the other room.

"We'll be back when Clint's in the bed," Pepper laughed, getting that their presence was the real reason for the boy's hesitation. As soon as the girls were gone, Clint quickly stripped himself of clothing and hopped under the covers. Bruce nodded to Tony but the genius was too distracted to notice and so Thor moved past to call the girls back in. Slowly, Bruce began hooking up the various instruments needed to make sure Clint would be fine. Softly, Bruce explained what each item was for. Clint didn't seem to care.

"How long will this take?" the boy suddenly asked. Bruce hesitated in inserting the IV line into the back of Clint's hand. No one was sure what to say. Knowing they needed to tell him something, Tony answered.

"Well, we aren't really sure. But we think at least the rest of today," Tony replied. Clint nodded, getting a little nervous. The heart rate monitor spiked a little as the boy thought about it. Bruce paused in his work to look at the monitor. In his mind it was either from Clint getting nervous or the monitor was fault and would need to be replaced before starting this whole business. When it settled, Bruce glanced at Clint and saw the boy's worried gaze.

"It will be fine. We'll all be here," Bruce soothed, understanding the boy's fear. Anyone had fears before any type of procedure. Clint nodded, allowing Bruce the time to get back to work. A few minutes later, he was done and everything was ready.

"Anyone want to back out now?" Tony laughed, trying to keep his voice light. Steve shook his head and readied himself by Clint's left side of the bed. Thor crossed his arms, preparing himself for anything that could happen next. Natasha's eyes narrowed before she moved back to her position at the foot of the bed. Tony grunted before shifting to hug Pepper and then moving to stand beside Natasha.

"I'm ready," the boy declared. Bruce glanced about the room one last time as he readied both vials into two separate needles. He had briefed everyone before coming in on what he might need them to do considering the other times Clint had changed. If the boy thrashed too much, they would need to hold him down. As Pepper was pregnant, any thrashing might cause her to lose her baby so, she was told to just stand back and be ready to call for the doctors in Stark Industries' medical wing. Bruce also would be ready to back away as anything could trigger Hulk. With a sigh, Bruce grabbed Clint's IV line and pressed the first needle into the slot.

"See ya on the other side," Tony joked as Bruce released the plunger. Everyone watched the liquid as it slid seamlessly down the line and into Clint's arm. Steve and Thor shifted to stand directly by the bed as Bruce backed away, the second needle already slotted for a position further away from Clint's body. When a minute or so passed with nothing happening, Clint looked around.

"How lon-" he broke off suddenly. The others watched as Clint frowned, struggling to speak before looking up at them with a frightened gaze. Natasha gave him a warm, calm smile as she tried to let him know that this was normal. Thor uncrossed his arms and stepped forward. Steve sighed and reached for Clint but didn't touch him. Tony nodded, almost urging Clint to make the serum work faster. Pepper let out a cry before covering her mouth and watching. Bruce grabbed onto the second needle, wanting to inject the cure as soon as possible. Clint looked them all over one last time and then... He started seizing.

* * *

**4104 words! Not as many as I would have liked but almost a good fit. ONLY THREE MORE CHAPTERS LEFT! Well, technically one chapter and two extra 'scenes'. Glad everyone has been enjoying this and no offense, but can't wait until it is done.**

**Sorry for being a day late. Was sick all yesterday with stomach pains and back pains that left me laying in bed moaning and wishing I could take some strong meds for it all. But I didn't give in and as such, never got up to my computer (which is only about eight feet away from my bed...). **

**My husband is doing lovely. The healing from the surgery is almost over and he hasn't been drastically sick since. The only issues he's been having now is headaches and dizziness spells that sometimes upset his stomach. We're still working on solving his new allergy issue and working on finding out which doctors to see about his head but everything is much calmer with him now.**

**As for the second little one, no news on gender... Apparently when the doctors took my blood a few weeks ago there wasn't enough chromosomes to find out. I may have another test done at 22 weeks. Will be going to the doctor on November 25th to get another update. So next week I'll have more news.**

**Now, with Toddler Clint we have a possibility of upsetting news. A few days ago we went to see a doctor that has been measuring and keeping track of the size of his head as a precaution. This visit was seemingly going fine but because of a few odd behaviors, lack of speaking, and lack of social interactions, the doctor recommended we go see another doctor. We aren't sure what this doctor is for but my husband seems to think that Clint may be sent there for the beginning analysis of autism. Looking up autism, Clint does have many signs of autism like spinning, rocking, ear tapping, sometimes beating himself, lack of communication whether verbal or nonverbal, lack of social interaction with other kids and wanting to be near them, and a few other issues. We aren't going to know anything for a while as this new doctor hasn't called to set an appointment but, I will keep everyone up to date.**

**Thank you to all who pray for my family, it means a lot that I have so many people out there who care even though we all have technically never met. ( a lot better than my Facebook friends who seem to think I'm telling tall tales...) Anyways, thanks and I promise to keep everyone up to date whenever I post.**

**Review Responses:**

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**Review Responses:**

_Niom Lamboise _\- Don't worry. I'm nice to Reed (for now). tee hee. Yeah, Comic Con was awesome.

_sammygirl1963_ \- Yeah... I'll miss him being little too. But, I was running out of things to do and I didn't want to age him again and mess up the bonds I had forged. Cause trust me, if I was to age him again... Clint would have been a teenager and all hell would have broken loose. I felt that leaving it how it had been was good enough. Besides, this story takes place over almost an entire year now. Someone had to have fixed it by that point.

_amy. d .fuller .9 _\- Thanks, glad you laughed the whole way through. Honestly when it came to his speaking ability, I forgot to make him sound like a four year old. I was just typing away and then next thing I knew, my time to work was up or the chapters were done. Heck, I didn't even think to fix it when I was editing everything over. As for the rest of your review, I don't want to spoil anything, so you'll have to wait and see. The sequel is coming along fine. Almost ten chapters long already and lots of laughs and drama. Thank you for the prayers and take care as well.

_toshirolovehim _\- Thanks. I hate it too. Even more so when I watch the TV show and they only show him as his childlike personality. It's like they forget that they once made him the leader of the West Coast Avengers. I mean, come on! I always try to throw that in somewhere.


	36. Chapter 36

The first thing Clint became aware of was...

"_O holy night, the stars are brightly shinning. It is the night of the dear Savior's birth!_" a voice sang elegantly. It was soft enough that the song wasn't bothering him or blocking out the sounds of the beeping medical equipment that was still hooked up to him. But last Clint knew, it had been maybe mid-May, early June. Christmas music normally didn't get played that early. Well, maybe June as a precursor to the 'Christmas in July' specials on TV. He struggled to open his eyes even as he tried to remember what happened that landed him in medical. The last thing he remembered clearly was training in the tower alone, with Tony.

But something didn't feel right. Clint had been in various medical wings and hospitals in his life and none of the beds felt this comfortable. In fact, this bed rather reminded him of the bed in his room at the tower. A hesitant sniff didn't come back with the antiseptic, sterile, and overall illness that normal seemed to perpetually be in a hospital. Instead he got hints of peppermint, cinnamon, gingerbread, something akin to pumpkin pie and pine? Smells that immediately reminded Clint of the few Christmas parties and events that he ever attended. His eyes snapped open faster than he thought possible and he slowly looked about.

Amazingly enough he had guessed right; he wasn't in medical. Somehow, he was placed in his bedroom at Avengers Tower. But this didn't look like how he last left his bedroom. It now looked like some holiday elf had barfed all over the room. To his far left, in the corner by the window, was a medium sized Christmas tree dressed with ornaments that Clint had seen the year before and knew belonged to the other Avengers. Garland stretched across every bit of the ceiling. Three wreaths adorned the three doorways that littered Clint's room: one door to the main room, one to the bathroom and one to his closet. Shifting to sit up more, Clint noticed a couch had been drug in and basically took over the rest of the space below the window and beside the tree. All remaining floor space seemed to be overtaken by Christmas presents carefully wrapped in different decorative paper. On top of his bureau the pictures had been moved to make room for what looked to be a mostly half eaten meal.

"What the hell?" Clint muttered; his voice cracking and straining from disuse. He glanced down and quickly noted that he was naked under the covers on his bed and so he gathered up one of the loose sheets to wrap around his lower half. Slowly, methodically and with practiced ease, Clint removed the various medical hook-ups that covered his upper half. One such piece being removed set off an alarm that had Clint clutching his head until it suddenly silenced a few seconds later.

"Agent Barton, please refrain from removing any more medical equipment. The others have been informed of your waking and are hurrying to arrive," JARVIS called out once the noise stopped. Clint stilled before looking about again. This was the first time since before joining S.H.I.E.L.D that he had ever woken alone after apparently a traumatic injury. A quick scan of his body though showed no new scars that normally appeared after a stay in medical. Nothing felt hurt and there was no hanging bag of liquid that poured meds into him. So, why was he here?

"What happened?" Clint croaked out. JARVIS didn't reply as the AI was busy telling the others what Clint was doing and receiving orders from Bruce to not discuss what happened. The fact that Clint had woken partway through their meal was the reason why none of them were currently there. "JARVIS? What happened? Was I shot? Is everyone else okay?"

"Everyone is fine. You were the only one affected," JARVIS finally answered, having gotten permission from Bruce to at least say that much. Clint frowned as suddenly he got a flash of being six years old and watching TV with Tony and Pepper talking business over his head. Shocked, he shook his head before spotting a stuffed bear that had taken residence on the pillow beside him. Clint's frown deepened as he reached for the bear.

"Stevie?" Clint questioned. He remembered a toy like this from his early years. It didn't actually stay with him very long but no matter when he found it, it always looked in new condition. Even after almost 30 years, that much hadn't really changed. Frowning at the bear, he looked it over once again. Its outfit was rather closely designed like Tony's Iron Man suit. But how could someone have known that design when he was a baby and Tony was barely in Elementary school? Then there was a memory flash of being at a Build-A-Bear and watching Tony go step by step in building the actual bear he was holding. Clint tossed the bear to the end of the bed in shock just as the others arrived. He didn't even get a second to speak.

"Oh, poor Stevie," Tony moaned before retrieving the bear. Steve rolled his eyes and shook his head. Clint's mind flashed again to when Steve first saw the bear. Shaking his head, Clint curled up slightly, holding his head. Bruce frowned, concerned as he moved to check on the equipment that was still attached to the archer. Natasha and Pepper traded a look before shifting further into the room to give Thor the ability to enter as well.

"Clint, how are you feeling? Anything off or feeling strange?" Bruce asked. Clint looked up at him in confusion. What the hell happened to him? Bruce frowned. That wasn't the look he was expecting. "Is everything alright?"

"What happened?" Clint countered, feeling suddenly defensive. Bruce paused, unsure what to say. Clint glanced over the others. Steve looked to the Christmas tree with a forlorn look of sadness. Tony gripped tightly onto the stuffed bear before pulling Pepper into a hug. Pepper gently placed a hand over her stomach which was showing signs of an impending baby. Natasha stared straight at him but Clint could tell that she wasn't focusing on him. She was instead holding back and trying to act like she wasn't there. Then there was Thor. Last Clint remembered, the thunderer had stated he had business at home in Asgard and would not return for quite some time.

"It gives me great pleasure to see you awake again," Thor declared, taking over the conversation when it seemed no one else would. Clint gave the thunderer a puzzled look as Natasha smacked the god's arm. Apparently that was the wrong thing to say. Pepper and Tony turned to glare at him. Steve shook his head as Bruce quickly checked over the few monitors that Clint had unhooked. Slowly, he began re-adding them back. Clint didn't even notice. His attention was currently focused on Thor.

"How long have I been out?" Clint cried, looking everyone over as he tried to visually demand an answer. Bruce turned and glared at Thor, making the god wince and mouth an apology. But still, no one answered. In fact, now no one was even looking at him anymore. Clint grunted as he shifted to get a better look at them all. Bruce moved to push him back down but Clint smacked his hand away with a growl. "How long have I been in medical?"

"What's the last thing you remember?" Natasha questioned instead. Clint leaned back, surprised at her question. Thinking about it, his mind flashed through images of years past before settling on training with Tony. None of that made sense to him. Slowly, he glanced at Tony before looking back at Natasha.

"Clearly and that makes sense? Training with Tony," Clint replied. Tony cussed and walked toward the door. He didn't make it out before Pepper grabbed his arm to stop him. As Clint looked around, he was surprised to see that everyone was rather upset with this news. What happened to him? "Did something happen? Were we attacked?"

"Clint, you trained with Tony in the last week of May. It's Christmas Eve," Natasha clarified. Clint stared at her. He had been hoping that Tony was just pulling a prank on him by decorating him room like this. It couldn't actually be true. But as he looked about, Clint could see the others silently agreeing. Were they all in on the genius's joke or... Was it actually true?

"Is this a joke?" Clint muttered, silently praying for someone to laugh and cry 'got ya'.

"I'm sorry," Bruce whispered. Not the words the archer had wanted to hear. Clint looked down at the bed. It had looked like he had been in here for a while and there were signs of equipment that Clint had seen on other agents when they've been knocked out for longer than three days. Equipment that, surprisingly enough barely ever got used on him. He had never needed to stay in a bed for longer than a week.

"Have I been unconscious this whole time?" Clint asked. Everyone shook their heads before shouting over themselves that that wasn't what happened. His mind suddenly flashed to being four years old and being tortured by some woman before Tony burst in with the Iron Man suit and rescued him. Clint came out of the memory to Bruce questioning his wellbeing. The archer waved it off. "I'm good... I'm good."

"Are you sure?" Bruce doubted. Clint focused on Bruce. Normally the doctor didn't pressure him. Usually, Bruce would accept his words and back down but now Bruce was staring at him, challenging him. Again, Clint's mind flashed with him as a four year old, telling Bruce about how his father beat him. The archer frowned and looked to the bed again.

"Was... Was I a kid?" Clint mumbled, trying to make sense of his extremely jumbled memories. Bruce widened his eyes in surprise. He hadn't thought that Clint would remember any of his experiences. Especially with the archer saying that he could only remember back to training with Tony. But could he have been unintentionally lying to them?

"What do you remember? And I mean everything, even the things that don't make sense right now. I want to know everything," Bruce pretty much demanded. Clint grunted in shock. Could his random memories actually be what happened to him? Was he actually turned into a kid and seemingly live a second life here with the Avengers? Clint glanced over the others, wondering if they would be more willing to tell him the truth if he told them about his new memories. They looked back at him, almost slightly hopeful. He sighed.

"Bits and pieces... More seems to be coming back as we sit here," Clint grumbled. No one spoke after that, waiting to see what Clint would say. When nothing seemed to be happening, Pepper moved to the left side of Clint's bed and sat down on the edge. Her moving caused Steve to sit down on the couch and Thor to shift over and join him. Natasha placed herself on the footboard of Clint's bed while Tony and Bruce continued to stand by the medical equipment. Clint glanced over at the CEO and was shocked to get a flash of Pepper rocking him to sleep while humming some random song before being placed in a crib and drifting off to sleep. "It's weird. I know what I was doing or had done at those times but... I still have the memories of being here... With you guys."

"Is it giving you any headaches, remembering any of this?" Bruce wondered, remembering what Clint had said when they were in the Baxter Building. Clint shook his head no, allowing the doc to sigh in relief. That was something he feared that Clint would suffer with for the rest of his life. "Well that's good. When you were four, you mentioned that remembering both sides gave you headaches. I was worried about brain damage."

"I think I remember that," Clint grunted, his mind flashing to visiting the Fantastic Four while dressed in costume. His eyes widened before looking up at the doctor. "You gave me the cure right after Halloween!"

"Yes," Bruce said, even though Clint wasn't actually questioning it. Suddenly the archer looked horrified. Nearly two months? No wonder why everyone had been worried about him. And no wonder about the extra medical equipment needed on him.

"I've been out of it since then?" Clint probed. Everyone nodded. Clint raised his free hand to rub it through his hair. If he had known that he'd be out for that long, he might not have taken the cure. But then he ran into the possibility of dying. It was a lose/lose situation. "Jesus..."

"It took three days for the serum to fully age you back. After that, the cure seemed to stabilize the whole thing. A week later, Bruce couldn't find any signs of the serum left in your system. Exactly how Reed explained it would work," Natasha informed the archer. Clint frowned. That explained for some of the time. But what happened for the rest of the time?

"We have no idea why you suddenly slipped into a coma. Everything seemed to be going fine. The monitors and JARVIS all said you were healthy and nothing was stopping you... You just didn't wake," Tony described, his voice going soft and distant. Clint glanced at the genius as his mind flashed with the various times that Tony had taken care of him. Over the course of this whole thing, they had gotten closer. Clint winced. Everything was different. Not wanting to dwell on it any longer and feeling the need for solitude, Clint glanced over to Bruce.

"Am I good to go?" the archer muttered. Bruce nodded, having been checking on Clint's bodily functions while they all talked. Clint was still healthy even after all that had happened. Slowly the two began unhooking everything again. Bruce frowned at Clint's rather rough treatment of equipment but didn't comment. Clint wasn't one to stay in medical for very long and after over two months, anyone would be itching to leave. Besides, JARVIS was monitoring Clint as well.

"Are you okay?" Natasha asked, feeling more comfortable and confidant with her partner back to normal. Clint nodded but didn't look at her. A hint that he was lying and didn't want to talk. She frowned and wished he would look at her. If she pressed him now, he'd close off even more. Honestly, Clint had gone through a lot and Bruce had asked none of them to push the archer in fear of his health. She sighed deeply.

"Kay, you're all set," Bruce called as he finished withdrawing the IV line from the back of Clint's hand. Clint nodded and sat up further before shifting toward the free side of the bed. As he moved, he made sure to bring the sheet along with him. Thankfully Pepper and Natasha still had the decency to look away as a just in case. Clint stopped at the edge of the bed, his head dangerously swimming as feeling rushed through every bit of his body. The rather long length of time he had been hooked to an IV also wasn't helping.

"We'll wait for you in the hall," Pepper declared, ushering everyone out but Bruce in her miscalculation of Clint's hesitation. Clint didn't even notice until he door closed and Bruce was suddenly kneeling on the ground in front of him.

"You'll tell me if you feel anything wrong, right?" Bruce asked. Clint nodded before gripping his head in his hands. Now he was fighting the urge to throw up. Bruce raised an eyebrow at the sight as he waited for Clint to explain what was currently bothering him. After a minute or so, Bruce realized that Clint had just agreed more than likely to shut him up. Well, Bruce wasn't going to take that lying down anymore. "Well?"

Clint looked over his fingers to stare at Bruce. His mind yet again flashed to a moment where he told Bruce that he wasn't usually honest with doctors. He cursed his young naive mind. Over the next month or so, everyone was going to be using that against him. Clint groaned.

"Just dizzy. Happens sometimes when I've been on an IV for over three days. Gets worse the longer I stay hooked up," Clint explained, groaning again as he tried to make his dizziness pass faster. Bruce frowned. He had gotten a hold of Clint's medical file a long time ago and he was certain it had been the full file but there was no mention of anything like this. None of the doctors at S.H.I.E.L.D had even said anything. Then again, normally Bruce never cared for injuries severe enough to be hooked to an IV for three days, but still. In fact, Clint usually broke out after two days unless he was unconscious.

"Are you allergic to something that I gave you?" Bruce questioned. Clint shook his head, much slower than he had before.

"Something about any type of liquid getting injected into my body for long periods of time. Docs explained it as my body just seems to suddenly deem it all a threat and attack it. Usually makes me sick and S.H.I.E.L.D only recently started stocking some type of mix that I can handle. Supposedly Fury made sure the tower stocked the same type," Clint replied. Bruce frowned as Clint suddenly chuckled at a distant memory. "Almost got killed once when I needed a blood transfusion and my body rejected it for some unknown reason. Got a major infection in my wound and all the areas they tried injecting the blood. In the end, the docs had to give me something that shut off my immune system long enough to receive the blood."

"That's highly dangerous. If someone came in during that time with a simple cold, you could get really sick," Bruce pointed out. Clint shrugged.

"Normally why S.H.I.E.L.D docs won't let me have visitors until after I've gotten all the blood I need and the immune blockers wear off. They've timed it down to the exact minute," Clint retorted. Bruce shook his head. As the team's current doctor, Bruce should have been informed of all these idiocrasies. But he wasn't in this case. It was aggravating that he didn't have all the info. After checking Clint over for the rest of the day, Bruce was going to have an angered conversation with Fury and the S.H.I.E.L.D doctors.

"I wish you said something sooner. None of this is in your medical file," Bruce said. Again, Clint shrugged. Didn't make a difference to him. If he needed to drugs, he needed the drugs. Nothing he could do about it. One of the main reasons he tried to avoid Medical like a plague. Thankfully his dizziness was finally disappearing.

"Wouldn't really matter. Still need the crap," the archer answered before standing and heading over to his closet. Bruce frowned and trailed after Clint in case his dizziness came back to bother him. Opening the closet door, the duo froze and stared in shock at the huge selection of kids clothes. Apparently no one thought to remove the clothes and replace them with his adult clothes. Slowly, Clint started shifting through them all. Most of the clothes still had the tags on them and Clint could only hope that the receipts were kept as well. A lot of stores were gonna be upset when they had to return all this. "Wow."

"Pepper, Tony and Natasha went a bit overboard," Bruce chuckled, remembering the moment when Natasha came back with almost an entire store worth of baby clothing varying in size from newborn to 2T. Her argument was that Clint could age to any point and as Pepper had already bought from 3T to what looked to be medium kids' sizes, they were covered for everything. Clint could only nod as he sorted through. One of the girls must have organized his closet though because the clothes did seem to follow the sizing range. Right half was the small size and left was the larger.

"Better hope Pepper's kid is a boy otherwise we're gonna be visiting a lot of stores before the new year," Clint joked as he began scouring the clothes for a large or x-large shirt.

"You remember that?" Bruce wondered. Clint nodded as he found a shirt in the size he needed. He pulled it out before freezing. Bruce started laughing lightly. The shirt was an Iron Man tee shirt that Tony must have jokingly bought in their first outing and six year old Clint had allowed it to pass through. Clint shuddered and glanced back at the closet. This shirt had been the one closest to the wall, meaning nothing would be the same size or larger. Groaning, he began pulling off the tags and yanking it on as he wondered what happened to his clothes before all this happened. "You were only a baby when she told the rest of us."

"It was mentioned once or twice when I was four and her stomach is bigger now," Clint commented as he turned to his bureau to find boxers and pants. Thankfully those were still placed in the lowest drawer so it was much easier to retrieve. "You guys might not see it but there is a noticeable difference since I last saw her as an adult."

"Okay, well, if you need me, I'll be waiting with the others. Tell JARVIS to get us when you're ready," Bruce called before slipping out of the room. Clint paused as he realized that the others had left because the last time he was with them, he was four and had hesitated in dressing when Pepper and Natasha were present. As an adult, Clint didn't tend to care much who saw him naked but as he glanced about, it felt kind of nice getting dressed in private. He snorted before dropping the sheet and pulling on his boxers and pants.

Once dressed, he hesitated. He now had two choices. One, he could go out into the hall and talk with the others about what had happened or whatever they wanted. Or two, he could escape into the vents and hide from them until he felt more confident in his memories. As Clint debated these two ideas, a light knock came from his door. Surprised, Clint locked it. JARVIS must have let them know that he was dressed and contemplating. Sighing, Clint made his decision. When Natasha picked the lock a minute later, Clint was already gone.

* * *

After escaping his room, Clint needed to find a place where the others wouldn't find him. It was well known that he normally took solace on the rooftop or even the archery range. So those places were out of the question. But until his four year old self spilt the beans about the truck, only JARVIS and the archer himself had known about it. Clint could only hope that Bruce had forgotten about it or never told anyone else about it.

That's how Clint found himself underneath the cab of the truck. He was currently trying to unhook a rotted out fuel line. This truck had been bought soon after Clint had tracked it down. To be honest, this truck was the only thing that remained of his family. When he was younger, Clint always remembered a truck parked in the old barn even though they always drove the sedan that his father ended up crashing. Why he had wanted such a vivid memory of his past, Clint couldn't figure out. But now, it was nice to have something to do and tinker with. A swift kick to his shin made the archer pause.

"Go away," Clint grumbled, not caring who it was even though he was certain that it was Tony. For a moment, nothing happened but then a squeak of a wheel cart being moved made the archer sigh. Seconds later, Tony joined him under the truck. Clint grunted, trying to not just follow through with the desire to punch the genius.

"Hey, man," the genius greeted as he looked over the underside of the truck. It was so old that mostly everything was rotted away or rusted out. Basically everything had to be fixed. Clint had already done a lot in the engine but there was still a lot that had to be done below. "Wow. This thing needs to go to the junkyard."

"May not look as good as your classics but it ain't junk," Clint snarled, not wanting to get into the real reason why he had been working on it. Tony said nothing in response before reaching into a hidden spot of the truck bed that Clint hadn't seen. A pop sounded before the fuel line fell limp into Clint's hands. The archer growled before sliding out from under the truck and getting to his feet. Tony took an extra moment before following. Clint shouted at him before the genius could even stand. "What the fuck are you doing?"

"Uh... I was thinking of helping you with your truck," Tony cautiously replied, unsure of what was getting Clint all angered. He had figured that this would be okay. In fact, Tony wasn't even going to mention anything of the past few months. All he wanted was to hang with Clint. But when the archer tossed the fuel line at Tony's feet, the genius realized this might not have been the best idea.

"I didn't ask for it, nor do I need it," Clint snapped, taking his anger and frustration out on the genius. This was why he wanted to stay hidden, why he didn't want to talk to anyone. Tony's eyes widened.

"Clint, it isn't like that!" Tony called, coming to the wrong conclusion. Clint snorted and shook his head. "I just want to hang out!"

"We never hung out before," the archer pointed out, not even getting into Tony's apparent need to show off his genius. Tony winced, unsure of how to explain what was going through his head. He had just spent months taking care of Clint. Of watching over him like the archer was his own son. Just because Clint was now an adult again didn't mean that Tony still wasn't feeling the same things. He honestly was missing hanging out with the archer, talking about normal everyday things.

"Things are different now," Tony began to say. Clint laughed angrily, cutting the genius off. Tony had no idea what to do next.

"No, nothing's changed. I haven't changed. I'm still the same guy I was in May," Clint argued, forgetting that he wasn't really the only one involved in this. Tony looked sadly to the ground. He was giving in and was just going to take whatever abuse Clint wanted to deliver. "Just because I was a kid and you got a little attached doesn't mean anything between us changed right now."

"I thought we were both rather close," Tony whimpered, stressing the word 'both'. Clint shook his head as he chuckled at the genius.

"Tony, I was six and I had been abused by my father for so many years that anyone who gave me attention back then would be my best friend," Clint stated. Tony winced again, wishing now that he hadn't sought out the archer in the first place. It was too much to hear all this even though he was really beginning to think he deserved it. Clint shook his head. "I'm still a loner. That won't change. And right now, I want to be left alone."

"Okay... Sorry," Tony mumbled before quickly escaping the garage. As he passed the archer, Clint noticed something streaking down Tony's face. Something the archer though he'd never see on the genius. But Tony was crying... Suddenly Clint realized what was happening.

While he himself was trying to deal with and get over the fact that his friends took care of him at various ages, the others now had to deal with their once close relationship to the archer. Groaning, Clint understood now that he fucked up, royally. He wasn't even sure if there would be any hope in fixing this for any of them. All he wanted was to just go back to normal but... In the past few months everyone had created a new relationship with him. One that they'd be trying to nurture even though Clint was now an adult. By saying those things to Tony, Clint had fucked everything up. A sudden clapping made Clint turn around. Natasha stood at the door to the stairs.

"Did you?" Clint asked, not wanting to finish the sentence. Natasha raised an eyebrow.

"Hear everything? Pretty much. I came down as soon as you told Tony that nothing changed," Natasha replied. Clint groaned before moving to lean against his truck. Natasha shifted deeper into the garage. Even if Clint wanted to be alone, she wasn't going to take no for an answer. "What caused all that?"

"I was pissed and took it out on him," Clint grunted. Natasha stared blankly. A sign that she wanted him to explain more and wouldn't leave or speak until he did. Clint rolled his eyes while sighing deeply. "I didn't want to deal with the whole 'kid again' experience. Just being with Tony reminded me too much about it. And Tony pretty much seemed like he was gonna ask. So I pushed him away before he could."

"No, you threw him further than the Hulk could toss him. I'd be surprised if he ever spoke to you again," Natasha mentioned, putting everything into perspective. Clint 'thunked' his head against the truck as he moaned. Natasha chuckled at him, not feeling bad at all for the position that he trapped himself in. "So what are you going to do?"

"Nothing?" Clint pleaded. Natasha's eyes narrowed. Clint glanced at her before whining. "Nat!"

"Clint. Tony and Pepper dealt with this whole thing for a month on their own before the rest of us got involved. They got really close with you," Natasha explained. Clint stared at the ground, trying his best not to think about what she was saying but memories flashed through his mind.

"I remember," he mumbled, trying not to think about it.

"This whole time that you were in a coma, Tony only left your side when we forced him to go upstairs to eat or shower. He stayed in your room, on that couch. And that was with him even knowing that you might wake up and forget everything that happened," Natasha mentioned. Clint nodded, not sure what to say after those statements. Natasha didn't add anything else and after a minute, Clint looked at her. She was distantly staring out at the garage, letting the words sink into Clint's head on their own. He elbowed her side to get her attention.

"What about you?" he muttered. His memory of the events included her at sometimes but not a frequently as some of the others. Natasha shrugged, not really sure she wanted to get into the reasoning she had in avoiding him. He frowned and nudged her again, getting her to look at him. "Something wrong?"

"I kinda shut you out after seeing your six-year old self look to Pepper for comfort over me," Natasha admitted. Clint raised an eyebrow, trying to think back on what she was talking about. When he remembered, he cringed. At the time, Clint had thought he said or did something that pissed her off and she hated him. Knowing the real reason was actually worse. She shrugged again and sighed. "We're close as adults. Like siblings almost. I thought that would transition over."

"I had no idea who you were," Clint argued. Natasha nodded. That was what Steve had said as well. She heard all the explanations before, she didn't need it now.

"That's what everyone told me. But I felt like I couldn't do anything right, so I tried to stay away from you."

"You weren't the only one avoiding it all," Clint muttered. Natasha snorted, she had assumed as much whenever she watched over him. Course, Clint may not have realized that someone had been watching over him. "I was a little afraid of you guys when I was six. It was nice to be left alone even though it got boring quickly."

"But then you got even younger," Natasha added when Clint paused. The archer chuckled and nodded. She glanced over at him. "Why did you run away from us?"

"Hmm?" Clint wondered, trying to remember what time she was talking about. He had 'run' away a few times. Natasha raised her eyebrow.

"That first day, after the OCFS worker left," Natasha reiterated. Clint mouthed 'oh.'

"Tony was freaking out and I was getting a little freaked. Bruce mentioned before that when I was crying, Hulk had gotten rather protective of me and tried to come help. Figured that was good. Sides, Steve was drawing me rather than watching over me and I couldn't see you. I wanted to make sure you were okay. Once I got in the vents well... I kinda got stuck," Clint mentioned, going soft by the end. Natasha laughed.

In the many years that they have worked together, Clint had only gotten 'stuck' in vents twice. The first time, Clint had been in the vents when the mark blew up the building. In the collapse, the vent crunched down on the archer, trapping him in the protective metal. The second time it happened, intel had claimed the vents were large enough to fit a person. Well, Clint got about half-way through before his quiver got trapped. He couldn't back up as he hadn't known he was trapped until the quiver had broken through the metal plating and he'd lose everything inside it.

"Stuck?" Natasha questioned. Clint groaned but nodded.

"Well, I slipped down a floor when I underestimated the distance. Once down, I realized my body was too small and weak to get back up. I had no way to get back to you guys so, I went down further. I knew Pepper was in her office, so I angled myself there."

"We were terrified that we had killed you," Natasha said, still laughing. Clint snorted, he had assumed as much once JARVIS talked to Pepper and when they reappeared.

"I enjoyed the prunes," Clint joked. Natasha groaned. "Got everyone sick and the perfect revenge after everyone changed me at least once."

"The smell was so revolting!" Natasha cried. Clint laughed. "And how can you not know you're allergic to peaches?"

"Never had one," Clint retorted. Natasha rolled her eyes.

"Made up for everything when you spoke," Natasha chuckled out. Clint shook his head.

"God, I had gotten so sick and tired of signing everything. It had to be done," Clint argued. Natasha chuckled some more. Clint glanced over to her. "I can't really remember. Did Hill and Fury babysit me for a day?"

"During the remnants of prunes," she added. Clint groaned before smacking his head on the truck again. Natasha snorted.

"Did everyone change me?"

"Pretty much."

"God. I'm never gonna be able to look at you all again!" Natasha laughed again before patting the archer's shoulder.

"At least Pepper was the only one who did bath time," Natasha pointed out. Clint flushed. That was something he could do without. Any memory of the nightly baths that the CEO had performed. Sadly, he pretty much remembered each night. He looked over at her but before he could speak, Natasha stopped him. "Hey, you were close with her and I wasn't going to argue."

"Doesn't mean the memory won't scar me now," Clint grumbled. The two drifted off into a comfortable silence. Natasha didn't want to disturb the archer and Clint was rather lost in his memories. Though most memories of him being a baby had long since vanished, the memories of the month he spent with the Avengers was clear in his head. So clear that a few times when he tried to remember his mother's face, he saw Pepper's or Natasha's instead.

After a few minutes of this, Clint mentally slapped himself in anger. Talking to Natasha about what had happened to him actually made him feel better. Made him understand her own point of view and helped him deal with his. He hadn't thought it would work but apparently he was wrong. Course even after realizing this, Clint began to feel bad again. He had been so mean to Tony before. And all the guy was trying to do was chat.

"Something up?" Natasha asked. Clint groaned.

"I should go find Tony."

"He went to your old playroom," Natasha called as the archer pushed away from the truck and started to head off. He paused at her words.

"My... Playroom?" Clint chorused, turning to face her. She chuckled before pushing off the truck as well. He had a vague memory of a playroom but not where it was placed right now. Before, it used to just be the living room of his current apartment.

"The room across from yours. Tony took everything out of your room a few hours ago and moved it there. He plans on keeping it as a playroom for his kid, seeing as it's already up to OCFS standards," Natasha explained, being blatantly vague on the whereabouts. Clint didn't even notice.

"Where is the baby gonna sleep?"

"For now? In Tony's and Pepper's room. They think the baby will be there until it can sleep through the night. It also gives time for Tony to renovate wherever he thinks the baby will be," Natasha replied. Clint nodded. Neither had moved. "You're stalling. Hurry up and go apologize."

Clint grimaced but nodded again. With a deep sigh, he set off. He figured that Natasha was following after him, but she had other plans. By the time he reached the elevator, Clint realized Natasha wasn't following him. He turned just in time to see the spy start up one of the four motorcycles and drive off. Laughing lightly at the irony of it all, Clint boarded the elevator. It went up to the floor that the gym was on before stopping. Clint looked up to see the doors open, showing a waiting Steve.

"Oh!" Steve greeted in surprise at seeing the archer. Clint nodded a hello before moving aside to allow the soldier to join him. Steve smiled before slowly entering. Before the doors close, he glanced over. "What floor you going to?"

"Mine, I think," Clint muttered, unsure. His memory of the path to the playroom didn't match with the path he always took to his room. But Natasha had said it was across the hall. Figuring his memory was just off, Clint looked over to Steve. "I have to find Tony."

"About the blow up?" Steve wondered. Clint winced. JARVIS must have recorded it or something. The archer highly doubted that Tony would go around telling the others about what was said.

"How'd you hear about it?" Clint asked, making sure he was right.

"JARVIS warned us that you might not be... 'Visitor friendly'," Steve admitted. Clint chuckled at the words before mentally agreeing. That would be what it looked like to the AI. Clint certainly wasn't up to entertaining visitors. Even speaking with Natasha was an issue. If not for their long relationship, Clint might have snapped at her as well and never have gotten over what happened.

"Yeah," Clint agreed. The elevator stopped on his floor, the same floor that the playroom should be on. Halfway out the door, Clint turned back to Steve, leaving his body to block. "We okay?"

"What do you mean?" Steve asked. Clint pointed between them as if that answered the soldier's questions.

"We good. Nothing to talk about?" Clint inquired. Steve paused to think about what the archer was asking before smiling.

"Tomorrow, we can talk," Steve hinted. Clint frowned but before he could ask, Steve pushed him out of the way. The doors began closing. "Go talk to Tony."

Clint stood in the hall, rapidly blinking in shock as he watched the elevator doors close and take Steve away. He couldn't believe that had just happened. Captain America just shoved him out an elevator. Shaking it off, Clint turned to the rest of the hall. Slowly, he worked on finding his old playroom. As he grew closer to his room, he could hear the sounds of Tony swearing at something. Smiling, Clint walked faster.

"Mother fucker! Son of a bitch! STAY UP YOU STUPID FUCKING THING!" Tony screeched. The last statement was enunciated with a loud crash. Clint rushed ahead, worried about what he might see around the bend. As he passed the corner he paused as he spotted the genius tangled up in the hall with a baby gate strewn on top of him. A cursory glance allowed Clint to make sure that Tony was unhurt before cracking up laughing at the sight. Tony looked over in surprise at the sudden noise. He hadn't been expecting anyone. Seeing Clint, the genius froze before frowning at the archer.

"Need help?" Clint offered before the genius could question him. Tony glanced at the gate before nodding and backing up, waving a free hand at the object. Clint smirked and headed over. Slowly he lifted it and began to position it so that it would stand on its own and not interfere with closing the door. Tony frowned; the archer looked like he had done this before. "Watched my mom put these things up a thousand times. Barney and I kept knocking them over. We were too strong."

"Didn't think your family had the money," Tony softly replied, not really thinking about it. Clint nodded.

"We had money. We weren't rich but Dad didn't lose his job till after I was born. They had all this baby crap saved from Barney. Reusable diapers, gates, bottles, clothes... Everything was second hand."

"Was he violent before too?" Tony wondered, mostly to himself. Clint accidentally knocked over the gate in his surprise at the question. Tony winced, realizing what he had asked. "Sorry."

"No..." Clint answered. Tony frowned. Was Clint not accepting his apology or answering the question? Slowly, the archer went back to work on the gate. Clint shook his head and gave a soft smile. Tony relaxed. Something or someone had gotten to the archer before he came up here. "No, he wasn't really violent. He only got that way when drunk. Losing his job made him drink real bad."

Tony's eyes widened in horror. In all the time with Clint, he had never thought of that connection. It was no wonder that Clint didn't tend to drink all that much and whenever he did he tried to get black-out drunk. The genius wondered what Clint felt whenever he drank in his presence. Did the archer get flashbacks? Did he fear that Tony would attack him?

"I had... Had no idea," Tony whined, unsure what to really say. There was so much he could say but what would have the archer turning back on him, that he had no idea. Clint snorted before letting go of the gate. Amazingly, it stood on its own this time. Tony smirked.

"You wouldn't. No one reported any signs of abuse in the house. We weren't being investigated by anyone. All you'd be able to find on my family life was that I had a mother, father and brother. My parents died when I was six in a car crash. It wasn't even reported that my dad was so drunk that he was close to four times the legal limit. After that, I pretty much tended to vanish until S.H.I.E.L.D," Clint admitted. Tony looked to the ground as Clint got up and turned to face him. The archer sighed. "Look, I'm sorry."

"For what?" Tony called, looking up at Clint.

"For snapping at you earlier. I had no idea how to react to what happened and I was sort of pissed off and... Well, I took it out on you," Clint muttered. Tony sighed. After spending so long with Clint as a young kid, Tony could understand how a lot of this could be a problem.

"Clint, its fine. Natasha warned me against going to see you but..." Tony stopped and turned to look in at the playroom. There was stuff lying all over the floor. Clint glanced in and realized it was everything the genius had bought before. All the things he had used, played with or worn. Including Stevie. His gaze narrowed on the toy. Later, once Tony left, Clint would have to steal that back. "I spent almost an entire year caring for you as if you were my child. I wasn't that great at it in the beginning but... Near the end, I got so used to you being around me that I couldn't take another minute of not knowing if you were okay. So, I went down to check on you."

If possible, that made Clint feel even worse for the things he had said. Unknowingly he had attacked everything that Tony was fighting to get over in the first place. Clint just felt like a huge ass. Slowly, Tony looked over at the archer. He wanted to talk more about this but he was just so tired. And Clint just woke. It might be best if Clint just rested... Or so Tony believed.

"Look man, it's late," the genius began. Clint frowned before glancing at the far wall of the playroom. The clock that hung there read 11:48 pm. He hummed in surprise. As he had just woken only a few hours prior, it was surprising to realize the time. "We should head to bed and talk about this more in the morning. Okay?"

"Are we... Good?" Clint whispered, misconstruing Tony's words. Tony smiled. No matter how old Clint was, he was never self-confident.

"I'm good. Just... I mean, get used to me hanging about you for a few more days and then things will go back to normal," Tony joked. Clint smiled back and nodded. "Get some sleep. Tomorrow's Christmas and everyone is excited that you're awake for it."

"Christmas... Huh... Yeah, Nat did mention today was Christmas Eve, didn't she?" Clint asked himself. Tony patted the archer's back. "Damn... I missed Thanksgiving!"

"Yup," Tony replied before gently nudging the archer toward his room. Without protest, Clint began following the guidance.

"Was everyone here?"

"Pretty much. If it makes you feel better, we all ate in your room."

"No! Everyone saw me naked... As an adult!"

"Most of us had seen you naked as a baby so it didn't seem to matter that you were naked under the blankets. Besides, blame Bruce for that one. He said it would be pointless to dress you until you woke."

"Damn," Clint groaned as the duo arrived at his room. It took a second before Clint realized the tree and presents were now missing but the other decorations were still up. "The tree?"

"We figured that Christmas would be better celebrated in the living room. Some of the staff helped move everything," Tony said as he pushed Clint down onto the bed. Clint nodded before looking up at Tony.

"Is that whole thing finished?" the archer asked. Tony frowned, trying to think of what Clint meant before he realized. The living room was being torn apart after his allergic reaction to the cat in October. Clint had missed the 'opening' party in the middle of November. The genius nodded. "Awesome."

"Get some sleep," Tony ordered before tucking Clint under the sheets and kissing him on the forehead. Both men froze after that, unsure what to say or do. After a few minutes, Clint cleared his throat. Tony backed away quickly. "Sorry... Night."

Before Clint could respond, the genius was out the door. Clint smirked. Thinking back on the image of his father, Clint wasn't too surprised to see that the image was easily replaced with Tony's face. Sighing and leaning back in the bed, Clint realized he wasn't as upset with this change. It was rather nice not having to think of his abusive father but instead of the kind billionaire who swore that no one would take him away.

* * *

**8121 words. Went long so that I could cover everything in this chapter. Was totally fun. Two more chapters remaining and then onto the sequel... Crap, I better get to writing more... I only have about 9 of those chapters done.**

**Hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving (for those who celebrate it). My family has a 'Supernatural' themed dinner. We had a Turduckin which is a turkey stuffed with duck and chicken. We also had candied sweet potatoes with loads of marshmallows, some stuffing, bread, jellied cranberry sauce and two different Angel Food Cakes. One Angel food cake was covered in chocolate frosting and the other was made with strawberries and decided to fall apart on us after baking, lol. The first cake actually burned me as well. I was trying to flip it over as per the directions and it fell onto my chest, so I have a nice little comet looking blister there. Mostly healed, just waiting on the blisters to pop and see if it scars.**

**Everyone is doing fine. No sickness, no other injuries... Just fine. We all had a great holiday and now are starting to prepare for the next holiday.**

**Review Responses:**

**Favorites: ** hw41396, Wistim's daughter

**Followers:** hw41396, Wistim's daughter

**Review Responses:**

_Niom Lamboise _\- Thanks!

_sammygirl1963_ \- Yeah... Everyone is going to miss Little Clint. But they'll also be glad to have their Clint back. It's as tough for them as it is for us, knowing this story is closing up and we'll all be moving on, lol.

_amy. d .fuller .9 _\- Tee hee, no headache cause as you read, woke up a little after the need for one. lol. When it comes to his feeling on the team and his value, I find that even in the comics or cartoons, whenever he starts to feel fine and complacent, something happens to make him remember his place or to remind him how 'weak' his is compared to the others. So, it's hard for him to stay in good spirits. Yup, sequel. I'm excited about it too. Been running into a small road block with it but I feel once it's posted and people are reviewing I'll move along better. Thank you for the kind words about my family and I hope you had a lovely holiday.

_Wholockian99 (Guest) _\- I am fine with him having autism as well, believe me. I wanted to let all of you know in case I start falling behind on my writing. Believe me when I say that I more fear people thinking I am not fit to raise a child with autism over him actually having it. If he gets diagnosed with whatever the doctors deem he has, it might actually make life easier for us. Now we'll know why he is the way he is and be able to figure out little tricks to keep him as happy and healthy as possible. I love my son, no matter what happens to him I will always love him. Thank you for your kind words.

_Phoenix Brooke _\- Thanks so much. I'll miss this story too. It was awesome to write and I had a lot of laughs. But the next one is just as fun.


	37. Mid-Credit Scene

Christmas morning, Clint woke earlier than everyone else. When he tried to sneak out his room, he had been surprised to find every access locked. JARVIS had explained it as the others had all agreed while he had been in a coma that they would be locked in their rooms till everyone was awake and ready. Upset at that but not wanting to protest their wishes, Clint had returned to his room. Slowly he began going through the remains of his adult clothes. It actually only took twenty minutes for Clint to analyze every article of clothing to see what could stay and what needed to go. When he was done he had four shirts, three pairs of shorts, two pants, two pairs of socks (three more questionable pairs), and five boxers. He winced. Oh, he totally needed to go shopping with Tony again. And if that didn't fill him full of fear again, he didn't know what would.

"Agent Barton, the others are awake and beginning to arrive in the living room," JARVIS suddenly announced. Clint jumped to his feet.

"I thought we were all going to meet there at the same time," the archer called. JARVIS said nothing. Groaning, Clint rushed to the elevator. It was waiting with the doors open. Frowning, he jumped on. A minute later, the doors re-opened to the living room floor. Everyone was waiting at the end of the hall.

"MERRY CHRISTMAS CLINT!" they shouted at him. He froze for a second, stunned at their appearance. Everyone was decked out in holiday outfits.

"What the hell?" Clint echoed back, slowly walking toward them. He got to the end of the hall before something small, tannish and fluffy suddenly bounded into his legs. With an 'umph' he tripped and fell flat on his face. As he turned around, something wet began licking his face over and over again. "Uh! What the hell!"

"Arrow! Off!" Natasha commanded, rushing to Clint's rescue. Clint sat up as soon as 'Arrow' had backed down. He was stunned to see a little golden retriever 'puppy' was sitting calmly, staring at him. Natasha kneeled down beside the stunned archer. "Merry Christmas. Do you like him?"

"Hmm?" Clint hummed, unsure of what was happening. Natasha chuckled at the shocked archer. She had assumed he wouldn't know what to make of any of this. He just stared at the dog as if it was a fire breathing dragon coming to eat out his heart and Natasha was the witch that controlled it.

"Arrow is my gift to you," she softly told him before nudging his arm closer to touch the puppy. Arrow yipped and then began furiously licking the archer's hand. Clint didn't move. She could have told him that it was the end of the world and Loki was going to fuck him and he still wouldn't react.

"Hey! No fair! You promised that I would go first!" Tony whined behind them. Clint jerked his hand back and turned to look at the genius with wide eyes. Somehow, the genius's voice seemed more normal that Natasha's.

"What the hell is happening?" Clint asked. The others traded looks. Natasha and Pepper had both warned them that he might be a little stunned about what they were planning but they all had wanted to go through with it any ways.

"It's Christmas. We... Uh... Trade gifts," Bruce pointed out. Clint frowned before turning to look back at Arrow. It took him an extra second for Bruce's comment to settle in his mind. Then he flashed back to Natasha mentioning that Arrow was her gift to him. Clint shook his head.

"I... I didn't get you guys anything," Clint muttered. Pepper came over then and pulled him into a hug. She had figured that this would have been his biggest problem with this.

"It's okay. We all promised that this Christmas was about you. No one really got anything for each other," Pepper told him. Clint glanced around and the group nodded. Arrow gave a light bark before crawling into Clint's lap and proceeded to give the archer another wet kiss.

"Ugh," Clint groaned, holding the dog down with a nice and tight bear hug. "Stop, no licking."

Arrow whined lightly at that but didn't attempt to give the archer another kiss. The others chuckled at the uber excited pup. When Natasha had first gotten Arrow, it had been hard to keep him off of any of them, never mind the comatose Clint. And now, even with Clint awake and able to defend himself, it didn't look like it was going to get much better. Tony stepped forward now, figuring Arrow needed a distraction as much as Clint did.

"Want to see the other gifts?" the genius asked. Clint glanced over at the genius before looking back at Arrow. His gaze settled on Tony after a moment and he made a slightly crazed laugh.

"This has to be a joke. I thought you swore off animals," Clint determined, remembering the fiasco with the cat. Tony chuckled, also remembering the cat.

"Nope, just cats. Which, if you ever see one, run," Tony ordered. Clint snorted and smiled at the genius.

"I've known since I was four that I was allergic," the archer commented. Everyone stiffened. He was four when the incident happened.

"Before or after the serum?" Bruce questioned, more for his own curiosity than anything. Clint paused to really think about it.

"Uh... Before?" Clint questioned, sounding unsure himself now.

"Are you certain, friend archer?" Thor wondered. Clint frowned before shaking his head.

"No... Not really... I mean... I remember the cat here... But I also remember my neighbor's cat," Clint whined. Natasha placed a hand on his shoulder. "I can't remember which came first."

"It's okay. We won't talk about that today," the spy stated, her gaze solidly on everyone else. Clint nodded, knowing that she was giving everyone her 'death glare'. He was glad that he wouldn't need to go into detail about what he could and could not remember right now. Already, he had done enough with Tony and Natasha the day before. Having to do more with the rest was just too much right now. He needed a break. Tony clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention all over again.

"Okay, let's get this party started! Clint, come grab a gift!" Tony demanded, moving around into the main living room area. Clint slowly, got to his feet, surprisingly with the help of Arrow. He frowned at that but shook it off as he started to follow after the genius and froze. The living room looked exactly like the design he had seen when he was four years old. Down to the little rock wall/cat tree section meant for him. Tony laughed. "Oh yeah. You haven't seen this in person."

"No... I haven't..." Clint stuttered. His eyes wondered over the whole place until it landed on the huge Christmas tree and mountain of presents that was placed beside it. "Wow."

"Yup... We went a bit overboard," Tony mentioned.

"We?" Pepper asked. Tony chuckled and placed a hand behind his head in embarrassment.

"Okay... I did... Mind you, it may not be all... Uh... Age appropriate..." the genius said. Clint frowned. "I shopped in October before we found out that Richards had found the cure and couldn't return them cause they came pre-wrapped and I opened the delivery boxes when they came in..."

Clint snorted, trying to hold back his laughter but after a minute he couldn't hold it back any longer. He just stared laughing at the genius. It took Tony a bit longer but once the genius joined in, everyone started laughing with them.

"It's fine Tony. I'm sure I can still have fun with it all," Clint assured the genius. Tony nodded, glad that Clint was trying to please him. Thor clapped the archer on the shoulder.

"That pleases me greatly. For we have decided to make that our... Theme? All of us have gotten you youngling presents," Thor declared. Clint's eyes widened in surprise.

"Seriously?" he wondered. When everyone nodded, he smiled. "Okay then."

Slowly, he made his way into the living room and toward the tree. As he made his way over there, he noted that Arrow was right by his side. He stopped and stared at the dog even as everyone else began to take up the seating arrangements throughout the room. Natasha was the first to notice Clint was watching Arrow follow him. She just chuckled.

"Arrow is a trained helper dog," the spy explained to Clint even though he didn't ask. Clint looked at her, confused. "While you were asleep, he was trained to know that you are his master and what to look for."

"I don't need a helper dog," Clint pointed out.

"Actually, Arrow is trained to sense changes in your body. Specifically changes like seizures or the serum reappearing," Bruce mentioned. Clint paled and focused on the dog.

"Seizures?"

"You would get them before your age changed," Steve described, getting up again as he noticed warning signs of Clint not liking this conversation. Clint frowned.

"Honestly, the serum that did this could have caused a lot of unknown damage to your body that may not show up for years to come. Arrow is trained on you to sense these things before it gets too bad," Bruce said. Clint turned to look at the doc, his face still pale but he seemed a bit more understanding. Everyone calmed.

"Oh..." Clint replied. Arrow licked his hand before shoving his head into it, sensing that his master was becoming distressed and needed comfort. Absently, Clint began petting the pup. No one spoke for a moment as they watched the two slowly bond. After a few minutes, Clint seemed to realize what Arrow had done and stopped petting him. Arrow huffed before trotting toward the presents and sitting down. Clint snorted.

"Come on, you have a bunch of amazing presents to open," Tony stated, making the archer finally move. Clint nodded and grabbed the first present he could get his hands on. It was a gold shiny present with a silver bow. A white tag was attached to the bow. Clint grabbed that to read it.

"To Clint, from... Santa? Really?" Clint asked, glancing over at the others. Everyone, except Tony, began laughing. Tony huffed.

"I bought early!" the genius cried. Clint placed the present down before sitting down behind it.

"Tony, I knew Santa wasn't real by age three," Clint mentioned. Tony snarled.

"Hey, no! Santa is totally real!" Tony argued. Clint rolled his eyes. Of course the genius would believe that.

"Yeah, sure-" Clint started but stopped when Pepper suddenly clapped her hands.

"Boys! No fighting. It's Christmas, let's just enjoy the day. The Santa debate can wait for another day," Pepper ordered.

"Yes, ma'am," Tony and Clint chorused. Pepper's eyes narrowed at the title they used but before she could yell at them for that, Clint began tearing into the wrapping paper around the present. Rather quickly he revealed an average 'Beginner's Science Kit'. Clint paused to stare at it before realizing this gift came from Tony and it wasn't something he made and wasn't worth tons of money. He looked up at Tony. The genius shrugged.

"I swore, if I ever had kids that I was going to buy them a beginner's science kit. You mentioned a few times that you wanted me to adopt you so, I got it for you," Tony smartly replied. Clint gulped, noticing that Tony wasn't even going into the deeper issues. Reverently, the archer placed the kit aside.

"Seriously Tony, a science kit?" Natasha joked. Tony shrugged. Before anyone could tease Tony any more, Clint quickly grabbed the next present. He didn't want to get the genius into deeper topics and issues that involved the archer's age difference. The present Clint grabbed was a Frozen wrapped. Clint started laughing at the paper before finding the tag.

"Frozen Bruce? Really?" Clint laughed. Bruce slowly turned red.

"It's all I could find," Bruce defended. Clint chuckled one last time before slowly going at the wrapping paper. He was stunned to find inside was a small collection of books. Staring at the titles, Clint was surprised to see there were titles for archery, history of spies, history of the circus acts, and much more based a lot on things that happened in his life. Blinking in shock, Clint looked up at Bruce. The doctor shrugged. "I wasn't really sure what to get. But, I figured you might like some of this. Learning more about what you went through was something you were interested in."

"Thanks," Clint whispered. Slowly, Clint placed those with the science kit. With a deep sigh, he grabbed the next present. Like before, this was another gold present but no bow and also marked from Santa. Clint bit his tongue so as to not comment.

"I know... There will be a lot from Santa," Tony mentioned. Clint snorted. "Hey, I told you I shopped in October!"

"And it was stupid," Natasha added. Arrow barked in agreement. Clint chuckled before leaning back and petting the pup. Slowly, he ripped the wrapping. This was definitely not age appropriate. As soon as Clint saw it, he started cracking up laughing. Everyone, except yet again Tony, began calling out, asking what Clint was looking at. Clint took an extra minute to clear the rest of the wrapping paper and show the group what the present was.

"Where did you find those?" Steve cried as soon as he saw the present which was actually a set of presents. What it was ended up being action figures of each Avenger.

"Online. Well, actually I first saw them when out with Clint at the mall. Took a while to find the full collection," Tony admitted. Clint snorted as he pulled his figure's package away from the others' so he could get a better look at it.

"Clint! Toss me mine?" Steve asked. Clint nodded before tossing the entire collection over. Steve pulled his off and passed the collection over to Bruce, who snorted and pulled Hulk off and Thor off and passed it onto Natasha. Natasha quickly snatched her figure away from the Iron Man figure and dropped it to the ground.

"Hey, be careful with me!" Tony shrieked. Pepper smacked the back of his head.

"You have seventeen more of you, it's fine," she snapped. Everyone stopped to stare at the genius.

"Seventeen?" Clint chorused in shock. Tony shrugged.

"Give or take," he agreed. Clint snorted before looking everyone over.

"I better get those back," he warned. Everyone agreed and once they did, Clint laid his figure down and moved onto the next gift. This next one was also from Santa. Another snort from Clint but he opened it. This gift was some clothing. Amazingly it was actually adult clothes. Clint just stared.

"I saw your lack of adult clothes a while ago. Used this as an opportunity," Tony laughed. Clint smiled. The next eight gifts were more adult clothes. He ended up with seventeen more shirts, five more shorts, six more pants, three packs of six socks, four packs of three boxers and eight longs sleeve shirts. Clint paused at those. "I noticed a lack of those but you live in New York now... You're gonna need them sooner or later."

"I usually don't wear them cause they constrict my movements," Clint mentioned. Tony's face brightened.

"I can work on that!" he cried. Clint rolled his eyes before grabbing the next present. He was surprised to see it was from Steve. He glanced over at the soldier. Steve was still distracted with looking at the action figure. Clint chuckled lightly as he looked down at the present and noticed the wrapping paper was Captain America paper. His loud bark of laughter made nearly everyone jump.

"Yeah, I figured you'd like that," Steve chuckled when he saw what present Clint was on. Clint shook his head before opening it. He was surprised to see it was a collection of Captain America comics. "You mentioned that your brother used to read them to you."

"Wow... This must have cost you a fortune," Clint muttered. Steve shrugged.

"Mentioned that I was the main character and they pretty much handed them to me as long as I signed a bunch more," Steve said. Clint laughed as he flipped through them. Suddenly a paper fell out of the comics and drifted to the floor. Arrow sniffed it as Clint reached for it. He quickly read it.

"IOU Tony-pony?" Clint read. Steve snorted as Tony glanced over at him.

"You made Stevie and I want to make Tony-pony," Steve clarified, even though it didn't actually clarify anything. Clint just stared at Steve with a confused expression. Steve chuckled. "I want to go to Build-A-Bear with you and build a bear and name it Tony-pony."

"You couldn't come up with a better name?" Clint joked. Steve shook his head. Rolling his eyes, Clint chuckled. "Sure. Whenever you want."

"Before New Year's." Clint nodded before grabbing the next present. Again, it was from Santa. Clint sighed and looked at Tony.

"Is everything you bought me from Santa?" Clint demanded. Tony paused to think about it.

"Yeah, pretty much," the genius stated. Clint sighed. "Hey! I thought you would be a kid when you opened these so back off!"

"You bought me adult clothes!" Clint cried. Tony glared at the archer. Sensing that he was going to start an argument with genius, Clint rolled his eyes, a sign that he was going to blow the whole thing off. Tony's eyes narrowed. He would not forgive the whole Santa fight. The big man in red was real and the genius was going to prove it. "Forget it."

Slowly, the archer began to peel away at the wrapping paper before freezing. Tony arched up in his seat to get a better look at the gift. Seeing a small piece, he mouthed something and stood up. Pepper grumpily shifted to allow the genius to pass. Once free of the couch and coffee table, Tony headed to the tree, Clint didn't even notice.

"Tony?" Steve called. The genius waved the soldier off, not replying, as Tony knew that his actions would answer for himself. Tony picked up another present, wrapped in similar paper to the one that Clint held, and handed it to Clint.

"This one goes with that one," Tony mentioned. Clint just looked up at him in surprise.

"These aren't for kids," Clint softly said. Tony nodded.

"I knew you'd return to normal. I've been secretly working on them for a while now," Tony explained. Clint sighed deeply before putting down the present he was holding to grab the one that Tony was handing him. Once he had put down the first present, everyone noticed that it was a new quiver case.

"Do all of us get new weapons? Or only ones that you accidently hurt?" Natasha quipped to Tony. The genius winced at her words but said nothing in response as he had originally began working on her Widow Bites because he hadn't been fast enough to help her. And because she came down and asked for it. Clint interrupted the conversation by opening the second present. A brand new bow and new armor.

"Wow... Tony, this is amazing," Clint muttered. Tony shrugged, unconcerned as he reclaimed his seat by Pepper. Carefully, Clint continued to unwrap the bow to get a better look at it. As the archer looked the item over, one could just tell that he was itching to go down to the archery range to go test it out.

"Bet you wished you opened that last," Bruce joked as he nodded to the dwindled pile of presents still left to be opened. Clint sighed deeply.

"Seriously, this is too much you guys," Clint finally stated. The others smiled.

"Want help?" Natasha offered. Clint smiled and nodded. As one, the others got up and slowly began joining in. Soon the room was filled with voices and laughter as they all chatted over the gifts that they had all gotten Clint for Christmas. A couple more of the gifts were useless kids toys life Nerf weapons, educational toys, electronic kids toys, and stuffed animals. But there were more useful things like archery items, mechanic books, and more things that Clint had been rather interested in. Then Thor grabbed onto a thin box but before he could open it, Pepper cried out.

"NO! STOP!" the CEO screeched, snatching the package out of his hands. For a shocking moment, everyone froze and stared at the duo. Thor looked so stunned that he was about to cry and Pepper just looked horrified like Thor had run over her pet hamster or something. If one had just walked in one the scene, they might have just laughed, but as no one was there too, they just sat there and just watched.

"I do not understand. I thought we were helping," Thor whimpered. Pepper felt a wave of guilt before waving the present.

"This has to be specifically opened by Clint, sorry," Pepper replied even as she handed it over to the archer. Clint raised an eyebrow but accepted the present. Slowly he opened it to find that it was a thin box. Opening that, he found an envelope. With a deep sigh, he opened that to find a slip of paper that basically read that his new name was _Clinton Francis Barton-Stark_.

"Is... Is this what I think it is?" Clint whispered.

"We haven't officially turned in the papers. We were going to. A day away from it when Richards mentioned he had that cure," Tony stuttered out, rambling on and on as he went. A quick glance and Clint realized that the genius was starting the blush. Thinking back on his time with Tony, the archer remembered all the times he mentioned wanting to be adopted by the genius and how Tony wanted such. Clint smiled.

"I like it."

"Wait, what?" Tony asked, having been rambling a bit more and lost in his thoughts. Clint laughed and waved the paper at him.

"I like it. Thanks," Clint said. Tony smiled back.

"Of course it doesn't mean much as you are officially an adult in your own right but we can change it so that you own some Stark Industries stock and will gain an inheritance once Tony passes and such," Pepper mentioned. Clint's eyes widened in horror at the idea. Pepper smiled.

"Does this mean that he has to go to meetings like me too?" Tony jokingly wondered. Pepper shook her head no. Tony moaned as Clint laughed.

"Either way, it really means a lot," Clint pointed out. Tony nodded, grabbing another present. Slowly the group went back to opening the presents. When they were down to the last few presents Steve grabbed a huge box and before he could open it, Tony noticed it.

"STOP!"

"Jeez, again?" Steve wondered. Clint snorted and reached for it. Steve nodded and handed it over. Tony sighed deeply as Clint opened it. "What's so important about Clint opening that one specifically?"

"Uh... It's empty," Clint added, tipping the box over to prove such a fact. Everyone looked to Tony in surprise. The genius nodded.

"Yup. It's all the blackmail material," Tony stated. Clint looked up at him surprised.

"What?"

"I got rid of it all. Well, actually no. I didn't get 'rid' of it per say. I made JARVIS put it on your servers so that you could allow access to whomever you wanted to. I don't want to use any of it as blackmail but I didn't want to get rid of it," Tony explained. He then pointed to the box. "That box represents the blackmail server that I have of this whole experience. It shows the amount that I could have had in pictures and DVDs. But instead, I decided to leave it empty and let you decide what we can all enjoy together at a later date."

For a long time the room was silent. No one had any idea what to say. In all the time they had known Tony, no one had ever really known Tony to do something like this. It meant such a great deal. More than words could even describe. Finally, Clint just got to his feet, walked over all the wrapping paper and simply pulled Tony into a tight hug. Tony just froze for a second before finally gulping and then awkwardly patting Clint on the back.

"Okay man. I get it. You like the gift," Tony said, trying to get Clint to stop hugging him. But Clint continued hugging him. Pepper leaned back to get a good look at Clint's face and was stunned to see that the archer was now crying.

"Oh, Clint," she cooed before pulling both Tony and Clint into a hug of her own. Tony cried out but was largely ignored. Tony looked over Pepper's and Clint's shoulders to everyone else looking at them. He rolled his eyes.

"Come on," he encouraged. With a laugh, they all joined in. When they finally all backed away from the group hug, Clint had stopped crying but his eyes were still slightly red from the tears. He sniffed before looking them all over.

"Best Christmas ever."

* * *

**4241 words. And totally awesome. I'm glad that everyone has been enjoying this. Can't wait to see how you all respond to this chapter. So many feels, ^_^ .**

**My family is doing well. My husband just had his allergy testing done and we learned a few things from it but most of the positives were ones we knew about. The biggest surprises was that he is allergic to broccoli and saline (basically salt water). But the test went fine, no extreme reactions. Toddler Clint is well. Still not talking and the new 'head doctor' we were told to meet with has a waiting list of at least three months. So, now we wait. Though we may call another doctor in the mean time. Who knows. Personally, my burn from Thanksgiving got a small infection and needed an ointment to help it heal. Sadly, to help, I needed to loosely cover it with either a Band-Aid or gauze. Come to find out, my chest doesn't like the glue involved in and type of tape or Band-Aid. So now I have a lovely red box of skin around the burn. Thankfully today I was able to get away with no ointment, covering or glue substance and so it seems to be clearing up fine.**

**Only one more chapter left! OMG! Can't believe it's almost over. Heck, can't wait for the next story either. But, so sad that this one had to end. Either way... Hope you all enjoyed the ride.**

**Review Responses:**

**Favorites: ** Ryaaaaann, wildninja1

**Followers:** eldergrayskull, Ryaaaaann

**Review Responses:**

_Niom Lamboise _\- Yup, Clint and Tony will be good friends but like any good friendship, they may sometimes fight in the future so don't expect it to last. Thanks for the reviews and hope to see you next story.

_sammygirl1963_ \- Nope, couldn't do that. Needed to fix things and the words just kept coming and coming. I almost cried while typing it (which would have been embarrassing seeing as I was typing the chapter at work rather than building key chains like I was supposed to ^_^). I loved having Tony kiss Clint goodnight. It's something that my husband and I do for Clint each night as well and I just knew it would have been force of habit for the genius. Just the most perfect ending.

_amy. d .fuller .9 _\- Yeah, he remembers most of it but as time passes he'll forget more and more. I loved writing the interaction with Tony. To be honest, I surprised myself when I typed that Tony gave Clint a goodnight kiss but as I re-read the chapter, I realized it fit and basically had to end that way. I'll try and work in Clint remembering how much the team cares but it's mostly based on how the mind acts and the mind tries hard to block good memories during moments of self-doubt, self-loathing and depression. (I should know, lol.) Glad to hear you enjoyed Thanksgiving. My burn actually ended up get a small infection and I had to get an ointment cream to put on it. Then, come to find out, my chest doesn't like any type of glue sitting on it. We tried regular Band-Aids, paper tape, and a few others things that I can't remember now. Nothing helped. I got all red and inflamed wherever the glue stuck. But, mostly healed now. Went the whole day without covering and the redness is almost gone and the burn has a nice thin healthy layer of skin on it.

_pottyandweezlbe89 _\- Thank you. Glad you loved every minute of it. Can't wait to post the sequel story as well. Looking forward to what everyone thinks of it.

_Ryaaaaann _\- Yup, sequel. Trust me, you aren't the only one excited for it. Thanks for the compliment.

_Guest _\- I'm glad you like the story.

_Wholockian99 (Guest) _\- Yup, total adventure. The sequel is going to be just as awesome (I hope). I can't believe it's ending either but as they say 'all good things must come to an end.'


	38. End-Credit Scene

Having spent the night before re-watching the footage of Tony at Build-A-Bear, Clint knew exactly what he was getting into when Steve invited him to finally go back to the store. He couldn't wait to record the whole event for memory sake. And it would be saved with Tony's embarrassing event. Well, as long as Steve didn't try and make him build a bear as well. Steve had promised that he wouldn't force the archer but it would make the whole thing more like a gift than just Steve doing it. Clint had laughed and disagreed. Steve, who had actually never been to such store, had no idea what he had gotten himself into.

To make matters worse, when they first arrived, there was a children's birthday party going on. The place was mobbed with kids running back and forth, begging for a new bear or this outfit or that. But Clint thought the biggest issue was the birthday boy just so happened to be named Steven and loved the Avengers, namely Captain America. So, Clint stood at the front of the store for over two hours as Steven lead Steve around the entire store for over fifty times in an effort to make the perfect Captain America bear and wardrobe.

"BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!" Steven shouted in the checkout line as Steve smiled and waved, slowly walking away. The mother was frantically paying for the bear and the various other outfits that her son demanded for his bear because Steve said he might have worn them had he been the bear. This bear had more outfits than Clint did before the Christmas party at the tower.

"Have fun?" Clint laughed as Steve sighed deeply. Slowly, the captain ran a hand through his hair to try and de-stress from the rather manic time he had spent with the child. Clint chuckled at the action. Who knew that a seven year old kid could tire out Captain America? Thinking back on it, Clint now really wanted to go through more of the footage when he was a kid and see how much of a pain he really was. Especially as a baby.

"Who knew that other kids could be such handfuls?" Steve sighed again. He hadn't ever thought about other kids. Clint had been rather good. But, maybe Steve just wasn't remembering it correctly. Clint laughed at the solider.

"I thought I was pretty bad," the archer retorted. Steve smiled.

"So did I. Then I met Steven," Steve mentioned before glancing over at the boy. Steven and his mother were just about to leave the store. The mother was carrying a box that was designed to look like a house that was full of clothes while Steven was carrying the bear and playing with one of his friends who had an Iron Man bear. Both boys were making the bears play fight.

"I wasn't too bad then?" Clint joked. Steve shook his head before moving down the line to grab the bear he actually intended to make on this trip. Clint chuckled once again before moving to follow after him. Like before, he didn't grab a bear but he did glance over the Thor and Hulk bear. "You know, for once, I'd love to see a Widow or Hawkeye thing without there being one of you other guys."

"Don't think that will ever happen," Steve replied, not intending to be insulting or anything. Clint took it the wrong way and frowned at the Captain.

"What, we can't have our own franchise? We ain't popular enough?" Clint cried. Steve chuckled and pointed back to the near empty bins of Avenger bears. Clint's eyes narrowed. "Hey, we can't defend ourselves in this situation. We have no bears."

"S.H.I.E.L.D kept a pretty tight lid on your involvement with Manhattan. By the time people knew there were two other members on the team, everyone had already chosen a favorite out of the rest of us," Steve explained as he stepped up to the stuffing station. Clint rolled his eyes.

This time around the worker at the stuffing station was a female. Clint could already see the trouble brewing and a quick glance at Steve showed that he was too distracted to see the signs. The girl had a huge Captain America shield pin attached to her lanyard and Captain America stickers stuck all over her uniform. This girl was going to be just as much trouble as the little boy; maybe even more so as she was an employee. Clint noted her name was Stacey. Thankfully, Stacey was still working with another shopper and hadn't noticed Steve. But she was almost ready. A few seconds later, the shopper she had been helping thanked her and sauntered off. Stacey slowly turned her attention to Steve.

"Hi, I'm Stacey and I'll be helping you bring your little friend to life toda-" she cut off suddenly as she realized who she was speaking too. Clint almost choked on his laughter at the expression of shock on her face. Steve just gave her a warm unknowing smile as he handed over the Iron Man bear. He had no idea what he had gotten himself into. Before anything could happen next, Clint took out his cell phone and began recording.

"Hi Stacey, I'm-" Steve started to say but was stopped when Stacey let out the loudest squeal either men had ever heard. Clint winced but didn't let his phone video even drop in the slightest. Being a spy and sniper, he had a steady arm. Steve on the other hand didn't have the same luxury. He backed away and closed his eyes to try and stem the headache that Stacey's cry was beginning to cause.

"Wow, ever thought of fighting villains with that?" Clint sarcastically asked once the girl stopped. He slowly began removing his hearing aids to fix them after that attack. Stacey either didn't hear him or didn't care cause suddenly she was bouncing up and down in her seat in joy as she stared at Steve. Clint rolled his eyes, used to being ignored when around Tony, Steve or even Thor.

"You're Captain America! I mean Steve Rogers! I mean Captain Rogers! It's a huge honor to meet you!" Stacey crooned, reaching out to grab a hold of Steve's hand behind the Iron Man bear and vigorously shaking it. Stunned by the ear piercing shriek, Steve's lax hand shook so hard that his body was forced back and forth as well. Clint snorted. This was even more entertaining than when Tony came to build a bear. Clint was so glad he started recording. In fact, he half wished he had recorded Steve wandering around the store with little Steven.

"Um. Well, that's nice," Steve stammered out, glancing over at Clint for help. Clint just shook his head, having figured that something like this was going to happen after Steve had first asked to go build 'Tony-pony'. And now, Clint was going to milk it for all it's worth. At least Steve didn't look like he was going to mind that much.

"What are you doing here? Well, I mean I know what you're doing in New York. You live here after all," Stacey began blabbering. Steve glanced at the girl before back to Clint. Clint chuckled even as Stacey continued on. "But what are you doing here here? In this store? Is there a villain here? Can I help? Who's here? Oh, is it a secret?"

"Actually, he's here to build a bear," Clint stopped her, pointing to the Iron Man bear that Steve was still clutching. Stacey's face dropped as she stared at it for a second recognition flashing across her face. Then it followed by surprise before shock. Slowly, she looked back up at Steve. Steve just gave her a meek smile.

"Really? Iron Man? You do know we have Captain America bears, right?" Stacey asked him, slowly looking between the bear and Steve. Clint snorted, Tony had been asked pretty much the same thing. Steve chuckled lightly. Apparently he wasn't visiting the same store that Tony did, or no one had mentioned it to all the employees.

"Yeah well, Tony came here earlier this year and made one. I wanted to make him an Iron Man one," Steve explained. Stacey's expression turned back to surprise before turning into total fangirl 'cutefied' moment. Clint prepared himself for another squeal. Thankfully she didn't.

"Ooh," she cooed. "That's soo cool!"

"Not really," Clint grumbled. Steve chuckled and glanced over at him. Now seemed the right time to draw attention away from himself. Clint's eyes narrowed as he tried to understand what Steve was going to do.

"I still think you should go make Thor or Hulk," he mentioned. Clint rolled his eyes. If Steve wanted attention off himself, then fine. Not like she'd recognize him anyway.

"And I still think there should be a Widow or Hawkeye," Clint snapped in an effort to prove that no one knew him or Natasha. Stacey glanced over at Clint and back at Steve before really taking a good look at Clint again. It took a moment before Stacey really understood. Then Clint stared at the captain. Steve just smiled. His plan worked. "Now you did it."

"OH MY GOD! YOU'RE HAWKEYE!" she shouted loud enough for the entire store to hear. Everyone shopping there stopped and turned to look. Clint snorted as Steve just started laughing. Stacey turned beat red, realizing what she just did. "Sorry."

"No problem. I live with Stark. Secret identity wasn't gonna last much longer anyways," Clint muttered. Within seconds cameras were flashing away. Mentally, Clint noted that he was going to have to ask Tony to go through internet data and get rid of his identity in this area. Thankfully, most cameras seemed to be aimed more at Steve than himself. Which Steve didn't seem to notice. The Captain chuckled once again as he shook his head. "Can we get to stuffing this bear so we can get out of here?"

"Yeah, sure," Stacey called, grabbing the bear from Steve. She focused slightly on her job, trying to get back into her normal mindset. "Is this bear for you or for someone else?"

"For Hawkeye," Steve laughed lightly. Clint sarcastically laughed back at the captain. Steve chuckled again. Stacey looked up surprised but wrote down the code-name any ways. At least the whole world knew that if an item was intended for an Avenger, you send it to Tony Stark, it would get to the others sooner or later.

"You know, Stark at least made his out to him," Clint pointed out. Steve smiled.

"Well, this one is your Christmas present," Steve mentioned. Stacey cooed again.

"Aww, that's cute," she said. Clint lightly glared at her and she quickly resumed writing his alias down on the tag before ripping it and stuffing it into the bear.

"I wonder how you'll ever find me if the bear gets lost," Clint absently muttered. Stacey and Steve both looked at him.

"Tony," they replied together. Clint stared at them before pointing between them.

"That, was creepy." Shaking it off, Stacey look back to Steve.

"Would you like a scented heart?" she wondered. Steve turned to her.

"What?"

"We have these new scented hearts. When placed inside your bear, your bear will smell like either blueberry, strawberry, or cotton candy. We also have the beating heart. Would you like to try any of these?" Stacey wondered. Steve frowned. Clint snorted.

"We'll go with the normal heart," he suggested. Stacey nodded and grabbed one of the normal red hearts from a heart shaped bin on the stuffing dispenser. Steve sent a grateful look over to Clint who just shook his head. With that step out of the way, Stacey placed the heart inside the bear before removing an overly large red stopper off a metal pipe on the stuffing dispenser and replacing it with the Iron Man bear. She then pointed to a metal pedal on the floor by Steve's feet. As she reached behind her for a key, she spoke to Steve.

"Can you press down on that pedal for me and we'll begin the process of bringing your bear to life!" Stacey cheerfully said. Steve nodded, gently pressing his foot on the pedal as Stacey flicked the key. The machine stared up rather loudly and as Clint had seen before, rather quickly the bear was filled with stuffing. And just like the employee had done with Tony, rather than asking Steve to release the pedal, Stacey leaned back again and flicked the key off to turn off the machine when she believed the Iron Man bear was ready. Steve didn't seem to mind. "Okay. Can you give you bear a nice big hug and move it all around to see if we got the stuffing right?"

Steve nodded and proceeded to do such before frowning.

"Something wrong, Cap?" Clint wondered. Steve chuckled lightly.

"I haven't played with stuffed animals in so long... I don't really know how they feel. Besides, shouldn't you feel if this is right?" he asked before handing the Iron Man bear over to Clint. For a moment Clint just stood there unsure what to do. Then his eyes narrowed.

"You planned this," Clint determined. Steve smiled.

"Seriously, I don't want to ruin it," Steve warned. Clint grumbled before quickly hugging the bear and handing it back to Stacey with a slight blush on his cheeks.

"Feels fine." Stacey chuckled.

"Honestly, you'd be surprised how many adults come in here and make stuffed bears. It's not as strange as you think," Stacey soothed as she began tightening up the loose strings on the back. Steve chuckled at Clint as the archer looked away from the duo. As she clipped the rest of the strings, she held up the bear for inspection before handing it over to Steve. "All set."

"Wait, what about all that rub your head for smarts crap?" Clint wondered. Stacey winced.

"Whoops," she muttered before grabbing another heart from the bin behind her and handing it to Steve. "Do you want to do it?"

"Do what?" he asked them. Clint snorted.

"Tony had to all this random stuff like rub that on his head to make it as smart as him, rub it on his back to have his back or some nonsense," Clint mentioned. Steve raised an eyebrow and glanced at Stacey. She blushed.

"I'm supposed to make everyone do it but I got a bit distracted. If you want we can do it on this heart and I can try and tuck it in there," she explained. Steve shook his head.

"It's okay. We won't say anything," he said. She smiled. "Maybe we'll do it next time."

"Next time?" Clint chorused. Steve nodded.

"When we come back to do Thor and Hulk," Steve explained. Clint frowned.

"When did I agree to do that?" the archer questioned. Stacey laughed as Steve turned to look at her.

"It was nice meeting you miss. Have a nice day," he claimed. She smiled.

"You too." As the duo walked off to dress the Iron Man bear in the Captain America uniform, Stacey couldn't help but laugh. No one was ever going to believe that she just helped Captain America build an Iron Man bear while accidentally revealing Hawkeye's identity to a crowded store. But at least she had an awesome time doing it.

* * *

**2651 words. Sorry the ending is short but it just fit better this way. I couldn't have it go longer. Just perfect.**

**My family is doing well. We finished our Christmas shopping for everyone and are now just waiting on some deliveries to finish the rest. Technically I was mostly done before October but still needed some last minute things. Toddler Clint is starting to sign new words to us and is back to saying some of the other words he used to say before. We don't get them as much as 'more' but then again there isn't that much need for the other words yet. The second baby is being a pain! I know that technically right now I shouldn't feel the movement but I've been feeling this kiddo like crazy for the past three weeks. And now, the babe is getting worse. Keeping me up at night, kicking my back (which has been in constant pain for no odd reason), laying on my bladder, punching my stomach and getting me sick, giving me vertigo in the shower, and overall making me dizzy and tired to the point that it's hard to work. But at least that all means the new one is healthy. lol**

**Review Responses:**

**Favorites: ** *no one*

**Followers:** *No more, story finished as well*

**Review Responses:**

_Niom Lamboise _\- Thank you.

_sammygirl1963_ \- I loved trying to write the gifts for this story. Originally I planned on listing each item specifically so that you (as readers) had to guess what item came from whom, but that got really tedious and lost the whole feel I was going for. As for Arrow, I needed a way to introduce him and I thought as a Christmas gift/service dog was perfect. When I wrote about the adoption, I was actually crying to myself. Almost fired the keyboard with tears, lol. And the blackmail was partially my husband's idea. He asked who was going to have the most blackmail material at the end and when I told him I couldn't decide between Natasha, Pepper and Tony, he suggested no one. I liked it and so followed through. And trust me, I hate that this story has to come to a close as well. But I felt if I dragged it on any further that it would just get cumbersome and even possibly boring. Thankfully, my muses never go away. I have the sequel which has 10 chapters written and two ideas to follow after that would be included in this story line. Never mind a few other ideas that are floating around on the edges. I ain't gonna be done with Clint Barton and the Avengers any time soon.

_amy. d .fuller .9 _\- I had so much fun writing this chapter. And yes, while Clint is going to forget most of what happened to him during his time as a kid with the Avengers (like most of us tend to do for our own childhood as we grow older), he does have all the material that JARVIS recorded. Technically, JARVIS recorded 24/7 so Clint actually has video of each moment so really, he isn't ever going to truly forget. Hope that makes you feel better. Thank you for the many kind words and can't wait to hear what you think of the sequel.


	39. Author's Note on the Sequel Story

Hello all. Normally I don't do authors notes but I feel that in this case I need too. As you all know I finished this story on Friday and if you go into my history of stories, normally the new story gets posted on the same day that I finished the old one. And trust me that was what I had planned on doing with the sequel. But lately I have run into an issue that I don't know when it will end.

When I go into my account and click the New Story tab, I get sent to a normal page that asks me for my story type (regular or crossover) and category (meaning MoviesAvengers) which I know many of you have seen. But here comes the issue. After choosing my type and category I click continue to make the rest of the story details but am instead brought to a blank page. There is no link to click outside of the normal account and page details. No area to title my story, to give the summary, choose characters or even post. Since Friday, I have messaged the support area of numerous times and have yet to get a response. I am unsure if my messages are getting to them or if they feel my complaints are in false or what.

I just wanted to let you all know. I have no idea when the sequel story will get posted but in the meantime I will try every day to post it and will continue writing more.

_Note: This note will self destruct around 12-23-15._


	40. Author's Note again

Hello everyone once again.

As you all can plainly see, one- I never got rid of my other authors note. Sorry, I felt it best to keep it up.

two- I still have yet to post my new story. Trust me, I am highly upset about this.

I have been messaging the site's support email at least once a week and have never heard a reply from them. At this point, I have no idea if they are even getting my messages. So here I am, going to ask for your help.

Can you all start messaging the site with me? Maybe if enough people tell them they are having an issue, they'll actually work on it or at least reply to someone and we can learn what to do.

I (and many of you) have waited over a month for something to be done. If this isn't resolved soon, I may be forced to create a secondary account to continue writing. We will see what happens. But for now, please help me get the idea to the site that this needs to be fixed.

Thank you all for the support.

Barton-Lover


	41. Final Author's Note

Hello everyone once again.

As you all can plainly see, one- I never got rid of my other authors note. Sorry, I felt it best to keep it up.

two- I still have yet to post my new story. Trust me, I am highly upset about this.

three- nothing has been done to help...

As many of you are aware, we have been waiting since December 12, 2015 to have fix the issue I have been having with posting. We are now two days into March and I still have not heard back from . So, because this is the case I have re-figured an old account that I used to have to become my new account. This new name is Barton-Lover2. This old account will continue to have my really old stories inside it but as long as I am able, I will be posting my new stories there.

I do not expect to ever fix my issue and I'm sorry for all those who follow this account but sadly it must end. There will be nothing posted here (unless you see something on the other account that states this account is usable again). I hope you can all find my new account fine and will enjoy the future stories I plan on posting there.

The story, Clint is Whom? shall be posted on the Barton-Lover2 account asap. Hope to see you all there.

Thank you all for the support.

Barton-Lover (2)


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